DM is a transdisciplinary artist working with photographic media, video, and installation. Her work explores climate disruption and the impacts of human influence on ecological and societal webs.
Her research and creative practice are deeply rooted within the realm of the effects of human impacts on this world, and most recently, “ecological grief”. The world is experiencing a time of extraordinary ecological loss - of species, habitat, ecological connectivity, and personal connection to the natural world. As individuals and communities deal with the shifts in the physical environment, so too, must we deal with the psychological and existential changes to ourselves and our communities.
She shares her time between the banks of the St. George River in Maine and the Borderlands of South Texas.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, and she is the recipient of grants from Maine Arts Commission, The John Anson Kittredge Fund, and The Kindling Fund (a re-grantor for The Warhol Foundation).
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CV
EDUCATION
- MFA, Photography; Maine Media College, Rockport, ME.
- (Studio Art), Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA
- BS, Environental Science; Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
AWARDS / GRANTS / FELLOWSHIPS / RESIDENCIES
- 2023 Seed Grant, Office of Faculty Success & Diversity, UTRGV
- 2022 Faculty Research Travel Support Program Grant, Office of Faculty Success & Diversity, UTRGV
- 2021 Faculty Research Travel Support Program Grant, Office of Faculty Success & Diversity, UTRGV
- 2021 MonsonArts, Residency, Monson, ME
- 2020 Ellis-BeauregardFoundation Residency, Rockland, Maine
- 2019 Puffin Foundation West, Grant Award, OH
- 2018 Critical Mass Top 200
- 2018-19 Unity College, Faculty Research Grant, ME
- 2018-19 Maine Arts Commission Project Grant, ME
- 2016-17 Unity College Faculty Research Grant, ME
- 2016 East Carolina University Residency, Greenville, NC
- 2016 How to Flatten A Mountain Residency, PhotoIreland, IR
- 2015 The Kindling Fund, Grant Award, SPACE Gallery, ME (Re-grantor for The Warhol Foundation)
- 2014 John Anson Kittredge Education Fund, Grant Award
- 2013 Honorable Mention, TPS 22, International Competition, TX
- 2012 Residency Fellowship Recipient, Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS* / TWO-PERSON
- 2024 (DanforthArt Museum, Framingham, Mass.)*
- 2024 (CICAMuseum, South Korea)*
- 2023 Solastalgia Times, Red DoorGallery, Bradley University, Peoria, Ill.*
- 2022 Documents for an Imagined Future,Storefront Art Projects via Photographic Resource Center, Watertown, Mass., Curator: SarahPollman 2020
- DMWitman, Index, Cove Street Arts, Portland, Maine (virtual)*
- 2019 Icebergs And Wildfires, Klompching Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
- 2017 Photo Biologique: Light + Life, Gallery 1/1, Seattle, WA
- 2016 Melt, Revela-T, Barcelona, SP*
- 2015 A Lensless Vision: Contemporary Camera-less Works by DM Witman, Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, University of Southern Maine, Portland*
- 2015 Supercluster Arion & Other Phenomena, Unity College, Leonard Craig Gallery Unity, ME
- 2013 Pinhole Photographs, Susan Maasch Fine Art, Portland, ME
- 2013 Supercluster Arion and Other Phenomena, Second Street Gallery, Charlottesville, VA (catalog)*
- 2012 dm witman photographs, Uppsala Foto Festival, Uppsala, Sweden*
- 2012 dm witman photographs, Think Tank, Portland, Maine*
- 2010 dm witman, pinhole photographs, Sussex County Community College, New Jersey*
- 2009 Featured Artist, Lehigh Valley Arts Council, Allentown, PA, Sept/Oct*
- 2009 dm witman, photographs, Baum School of Art, Allentown, PA*
SCREENINGS
- 2022 TheHaircut…or Learning to Let Go, COP27, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
- 2022 Documents for an Imagined Future, Storefront Art Projects via Photographic Resource Center, Watertown, Mass., Curator: SarahPollman 2020
- 2021 TheHaircut…or Learning to Let Go, Reading Film Festival Reading, Penn.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
- Contemporary Landscape, CICA Museum, South Korea
- Spiritual Ecology, Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, Portland Maine
- Salon of Small Works, New Arts Program, Kutztown, Penn.
- Spring 2023, The Curated Fridge, Juror: Debra Klomp Ching and Darren Ching
- LA Art Fair, LACP, LA Convention Center, CA
- Botanicals, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, Vermont. Juror: Lee Ann White
- A History of Photography: Selections from the Museum’s Collection, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX, Curator: Associate Curator Lisa Volpe
- TwelfthNight, MaineMuseum of Photographic Arts, Portland, Maine
2022
- MorphingMedium,Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, Portland, Maine
- Faculty Exhibition, UTRGV, Edinburg and Brownsville, Texas
- Culture of Hair, ColoradoPhotographic Arts Center, Denver, CO. Curator: Samantha Johnston
- MakingPictures from Plants: Contemporary Anthotypes, RI Center for PhotographicArts, Providence, R.I. Curators: JessecaFerguson and Mary Kocol
- Coming Down to Earth,Candela Gallery, Richmond, VA
- A History of Photography:Selections from the Museum’s Collection, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX, Curator: Associate Curator Lisa Volpe
2021
- Hair Stories, Newport art Museum, Newport, R.I.
- Extraction, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, Calif.
- Notes From the Back of Beyond, Roger Williams Gallery, NEC, Manchester, NH
2020
- Unbound9!, Candela Gallery, Richmond, Va.
- ReimaginedLandscapes, Center for PhotographicArt, Carmel, Calif.
2019
- Scenery, Lishui Photo Festival, China
- FRESH 2019, Klompching Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
- Melt-Down, Portland Public Library, Portland, ME
- Index, Cove Street Arts, Portland, ME
- Melt-Down, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland, ME
- Man-Made: A State of Nature, Greenhut Gallery, Portland, ME
- Material Lamentations:Art, Grief And The Land, Kathryn Schultz Gallery, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA
2018
- Faculty Exhibition, Leonard R. Craig Gallery, Unity College Center for the Arts, Unity, ME
- America Now, Lewis Gallery, Portland Public Library, Portland, ME
- Tidal Zone, Waterfall Arts Center, Belfast, ME
- Found, Maine Media Gallery, Rockport, ME
- Portland Museum of Art Biennial, Portland, ME; curated by Nat May
2017
- America Now, The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, Michael Klahr Center, University of Maine, Augusta, ME
- Maine Media MFA Alumni Exhibition, Maine Media Gallery, Rockport, ME
- Visual Metric, Griffin Museum, Lafayette City Center, Boston, MA
- To Climb A Tree At Least, Maine Museum of Photographic Arts, University of Southern Maine, Portland
- The Door Between, Book Arts & Historic Process Photography, Maine Media Gallery, Rockport, ME
2016
- Hot Topic - A Photographic Response to Climate Change, Gallery 1/1, Seattle, WA
- STUMP, Candela Gallery, Richmond, VA
- Constructed Realities, SPE Combined Caucus Exhibition, Living Arts Center, Tulsa, OK
- Branching Out, Curated by Bruce Brown, CMCA curator emeritus, UMVA Gallery, Portland, ME
- dis/exists, PhotoLA, Downtown Photoroom, Los Angeles, CA
- How to Flatten A Mountain, Rathfarnham Castle, PhotoIreland, IR
- Landscapes, Center for Fine Art Photography, Colorado
- Constructed Realities, SPE Combined Caucus Exhibition, Las Vegas, NV
2015
- Evidence + Advocacy, SPE NE Member Juried Exhibition, Photographic Resource Center, Boston
- Group Show, Susan Maasch Fine Art, Portland, ME
- Salt, Silver & Sun, PhoPa Gallery, Portland, ME
- Obscura, School of Arts & Crafts, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
2014
- Going Lensless: Recent Work by Six Pinhole Photographers, Forward Thinking Museum
- Dream Within A Dream, HEIST gallery, London, UK
- New Prints via IPCNY, Christies’s Rockefeller Center Gallery, NYC
- Summer Group Show, Asymmetrick Arts, Rockland, ME
- Don’t Take Pictures Magazine, Pinhole Photography Exhibition
- 2014 Art Meets Science Exhibition, MDI Biological Laboratory, Maine
- OBSCURA 121 Views, Pfluger68, Berlin, Germany
- New Prints 2014/Winter, International Print Center New York, NYC
2013
- Winter Solstice, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA
- Lenzless, Plates to Pixels
- Focus on Faculty, MMW+C, PhoPa Gallery, Portland, ME
- American Art Today : Figures, The Bascom, Highlands, NC
- Gallery Artists: A Group Exhibition, Susan Maasch Fine Art, Portland, ME
- Ballarat Foto Festival, Projection Program, Ballarat Victoria, Australia
- Mentor, 40 Photographers/40Years Maine Media Workshops + College, Center for Maine
- Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME
- Posteriori: An Alternative Photographic Process Group Exhibition, Aviary Gallery, JP, MA
- 4th Biennial Pinhole Show, RayKo Photo Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Mysterious Visions: Dreams, Fantasies, and Mirages, PhotoPlace Gallery, Vermont
- Biennial 2013 Exhibition, Rochester Museum of Fine Art, Rochester, NH
- The Things That Seem and Those That Are: Reshaping Photography through Alternative Process, Panopticon Gallery, Boston, MA
2012
- Enchantment, Plates to Pixels 6th Annual Juried Exhibition
- Art From the Heart 2012 (AFTH2012), Gowanus Loft, Brooklyn
- Strong Water, Oforta Gilde, Riga, Latvia
- Art In An Instant, New Visions Gallery, Scranton, PA
2011
- Maine Media College Alumni Showcase, Camden Library, Camden, ME
- Art In An Instant, SPLOT, Nowy Sacz, Poland
2010
- Art In An Instant, Thomas Jefferson School, St. Lois, MO
- Invitational Salon Exhibition of Small Works, New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA
- Art In An Instant, Cambridge School of Weston, Weston, MA
- ONWARD ’10, Project Basho, Philadelphia, PA
2009
- NEXT: Emerging Philadelphia Photographers, Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA. Juror: Ariel Shanberg.
- Just Look at Yourself, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME.
- MFA Graduates Thesis Exhibition, Maine Media College, Rockport, ME.
COLLABORATIONS
- 2019 A Guide to Grieving in the Anthropocene, with Dr. William Hafford
- 2016 How To Flatten A Mountain, PhotoIreland, IR
- 2015 Paper Parts: 20 Artists Working with Cameraless Photographic Techniques, UK
- 2013 the POSTCARD collective, Summer 2013
PRESS / INTERVIEWS
- Ray MarkRinaldi, “The photo exhibit ‘Culture of Hair’ shows how hair helps usdiscover ourselves”, The Denver Post, June 28, 2022
- Lexi Riga,"The Colorado Photographic Arts Center Showcases the ManyMeanings Behind Hair in New Exhibition", 303 Magazine, June 6,2022
- "The photo exhibition ‘Hair Culture’ shows how hair helps us findourselves”, World Nation, June 6, 2022
- Cate McQuaid,"Anthotypesand the art of letting go", The Boston Globe, March 30, 2022
- Coming Down to Earth, Catalog, Candela Gallery, Richmond, VA, 2022
- Julien Bolle, “Deanna Witman L’erosion dechoses”, Responses Photo, Dec. 2020
- Lidija Haas, New Books section review forSilences So Deep, a memoir by John Luther Adams, Harper’sMagazine, Sept. 2020
- Gaia Vince, “Earth Dayat 50: The best ways to change the world”, BBC Culture Apr 22, 2020
- Gaia Vince, “How scientists are coping with‘ecological grief’”, The Guardian, Jan 12, 2020
- Christopher Volpe, “Landscape and Climate Change”, Art New England, Nov/Dec, 2019
- Dan Kany, Art Review: “Water churns and melts in CMCA’s 2 major exhibitions”, Portland Press Herald, April 7, 2019
- Cate McQuaid, “Old and new meet at Portland Museum of Art Biennial”, Boston Globe, April 19, 2018
- Mary Pols, “Deanna Witman went from field biologist to artist and Unity College professor”, Portland Press Herald, February, 4, 2018.
- Kenny Cole, “Checking In”, Maine Arts Journal, Winter 2016.
- Carl Little, Review: “DM Witman, Kiki Gaffney, David Caras”, Art New England, Nov/Dec 2015.
- Marina Schauffler, “Artists in Maine make climate change personal”, Portland Press Herald, Nov 1, 2015
- Kathryn Skelton, “Weird, Wicked Weird: High-end slug art”, Maine Sun Journal, April 3, 2015.
- Brown Bruce & Susan Grisanti, “The New Masters”, Maine Home & Design, April 2015.
- Matt Dodge, “A fleeting look at climate change”, Portland Phoenix, Interview, January 15, 2015
- Mark Cheeo, “A Quick Chat With Proud Pinhole Shooter, Deanna Witman”, Lomography Magazine, Interview, April 2014.http://www.lomography.com/magazine/lifestyle/2014/04/21/a-quick-chat-with-proud-pinhole-shooter-deanna-witman
- 365 Days/ 365 Artists, Frank Juarez Gallery and Greymatter Gallery Collaborative Project, Interview, Feb 2014. http://365artists365days.com/2014/02/02/deanna-witman-rockland-me/
PUBLICATION AS AUTHOR
- A Guide to Grievingin the Anthropocene, Fall2019
- Catalog, Dr. Alan Lightman Introduction, Supercluster Arion andOther Phenomena, 2013
PUBLICATIONS
- Dangerous New World, Littoral Press, Fall 2019
- What Will You Remember?, Best Photo Picks April, 2019: https://whatwillyouremember.com/best-photo-picks-april-2019/
- Anderson, Christina Z, Featured Artist in Salted Paper Printing: A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Contemporary Artist, 2017
- Chris Snow, Aesthetics of Disaster, Climate Change Art in New England, March/April, 2017
- Process, A Journal of Slow Photographic Process Methods, November, 2016
- Don’t Take Pictures Magazine, April, 2016 Feature
- Aline Smithson, “DM Witman: Melt”, Lenscratch, November 12, 2015 http://lenscratch.com/2015/11/dm-witman-melt/
- Obscura, 121 Views; Germany, 2013.
- Dr. Alan Lightman, Catalog Introduction, Supercluster Arion and Other Phenomena, 2013.
- Le Journal del la Photographie, Portfolio Selection, April 11, 2013.
- Aline Smithson, “DM Witman: Genesis”, Lenscratch, March 29, 2013. http://lenscratch.com/2013/03/dm-witman/
- BETA, developments in photography, Issue 03, February 2013. (cover)
- Russel Joslin. Portfolio Issue. SHOTS Magazine. December 2012.
- “Plates to Pixels” 6th Annual Juried Exhibition Catalog “Enchantment”, December 2012 http://platestopixels.com/blog/exhibitions/enchantment/
- “Minimal Exposition”, May 9, 2012. http://minimalexposition.blogspot.com/2012/05/deanna-witman-manifestations.html
JUROR
- 2019 Advisory Juror, Illinois Arts Council Agency, Artist Fellowship Program
LECTURES/PANELS
- 2023 FEMeeting,Eco-Grief & Eco-Anxiety: Transdisciplinary Perspectives, Taos, NM
- 2023 ArtistTalk, Solastalgia in the Anthropocene, Maine Media College, Rockport,Maine
- 2023 ArtistTalk, Solastalgia Times, Bradley University, Peoria, IL
- 2023 Artist Talk, Hand-Makingwithin the Anthropocene, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA
- 2022 Artist Panel, Documentsfor an Imagined Future, Storefront Art Projects via Photographic Resource Center, Watertown, Mass.
- 2022 ArtistPanel, Culture of Hair, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO
- 2021 Visiting ArtistLecture, KutztownUniversity, Kutztown, Penn.
- 2021 Artist Lecture, HairStories, Newport Art Museum, R.I. ArtistLecture, Colby College,Maine
- 2021 “The Archive and the Anthropocene” aspart of panel Frozen: The Anxiety of Ice in Art, College Art Association
- 2020 “A Guide to Loss & Grieving in theAnthropocene”: A Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration in Art, Psychology and Community-Building,The Sixth International Conference on Transdisciplinary Imaging at theIntersections between Art, Science and Culture, Australia
- 2020 Artist Lecture, Wellesley College, Mass.
- 2019 “Grieving & Loss in the Anthropocene”, various locations, Maine
- 2019 Panel, Melt Down exhibition, "Capturing Ice"
- 2018 “Updating Traditional Media, Participatory Art Within and Beyond the Gallery Walls”, TransCultural Exchange International Conference, Quebec City, CA, February 23.
- 2017 “To Climb A Tree, At Least”, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, November 16.
- 2017 Master Lecture Series, Maine Media Workshops, Rockport, ME, July 25.
- 2016 A Journey… from here to there, East Carolina University, NC, November 19.
- 2016 HTFAM Collaborative Artist Residency, FishBowl Series, Unity College, ME, October.
- 2016 Panel, Artists Wielding Words and Images conference, Portland, ME, April 24.
- 2015 Image-Maker Lecture, Melt, SPE, NE Regional Conference, Boston University, MA, Nov. 6.
- 2015 Melt, Artist Talk, Maine Photo Symposium, University of Southern Maine, Portland, Oct. 15
- 2015 Artist Lecture, Work in Progress, Melt, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, May.
- 2014 The Lensless Document, Undergraduate Documentary Photography, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Nov. 18.
- 2014 From There to Here: Notes about Process, Masters Lecture Series, Maine Media Workshops + College, July 22.
- 2013 Moderator, Panel Discussion, The State of the Print in Contemporary Photography, ONWARD Summit, Project Basho, Philadelphia, PA, March 23.
- 2012 Pinhole Dreams & Documents, Pecha Kucha, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, February 10.
- 2012 DM Witman: Works in Progress,Night for Emerging Photographers, Project Basho, Philadelphia, PA, November 15.
COLLECTIONS
- Museum of Fine Arts Houston
- University of Southern Maine Glickman Library
- Numerous private collections
PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES / EVENTS
- 2020,22 FotoFest,Houston, Tex.
- 2019 Photolucida,Portland, Ore.
- 2018 TransCultural Exchange Conference, Quebec City, Quebec, CA
- 2014-16 LOOK3 Festival, Charlottesville, VA
- 2013 ONWARD Summit, Project Basho
- 2012 PhotoNOLA, New Orleans
- 2009 - SPE Regional and National Conferences
- 2009 Les Rencontres Photography, Arles, FR
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
- 2021- AssistantProfessor of Photography, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Texas
- 2020-20 Adjunct Faculty, Art and Art History Dept,. University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
- 2016-20 - Assistant Professor of Environmental Humanities
- 2017-21- Visiting Artist, MFA Photography program, Institute of Art & Design at New England College, Manchester, NH
- 2015 - 17- Mentor, ONWARD Global Mentorship Program
- 2014 - 16 Adjunct Faculty, Unity College, Unity, ME
- 2011 - Instructor, Maine Media Workshops + College, Rockport, ME
- 2013-14 Instructor, Maine RSU3, Unity, ME
- 2011-14 Artist-Mentor, Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, ME
- 2011 Instructor, Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport, ME
- 2010 Instructor, Project Basho, Philadelphia, PA
- 2010 Adjunct Visiting Assistant Professor, Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
- 2008-09 Teaching Assistant, Maine Media College & Workshops, Rockport, ME
- 2001-07 Instructor/Teaching Assistant/Lab Manager, Baum School of Art, Allentown, PA.