Resume
Education
2007 - 2010
Master of Fine Arts in Photography, Emphasis in Visual Studies; University of California, Irvine
2006 - 2007
Coro Fellowship in Public Policy, Art & Public Policy Focus; Coro Center for Civic Leadership in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University
2000 - 2004
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Urbanism; Smith College, Cum Laude
1999 - 2000
Rural Hate Crime Witness Project and Queer Youth Initiative, Hampshire College International Social Justice Program, Managua, Nicaragua
ProFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS
2017 - Present
Assistant Professor, The School of The Art Institute of Chicago
2016 - 2017
Full Time Visiting Assistant Professor, Scripps College
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2022
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL / MCA Stage 2022 Season: New Normal [upcoming]
2019
Aula Sergiu Chiriacescu Galerie, Brasov, Romania / Better or Equal Use
2018
Mana Contemporary, Miami, FL / Please Enjoy a Drink Fresh From the Mountains
2017
Actual Size Gallery, Los Angeles, CA / Same Rock
2015
Museum of Art and History, Lancasta, CA / Jonas N.T. Becker: Westward Bound
The Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA / The Pile
2014
Shulamit Gallery, Los Angeles, CA / Zol Zayn / What if?
2012
5118 York, Los Angeles, CA / 2012102: Apocalypse Now?
2011
Autonomie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA / Erasing Traces
CommonSpace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA / New Work: Nina T. Becker
2010
Room Gallery, Irvine, CA / Seventy-Two Hours
Monongelia Art Center, Benedum Gallery, Morgantown, WV / Thank G-d for Mississippi
2008
EGS Gallery, Switzerland / Huts
2006
Terminal Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA / Fellows
2002
Aztec Art Space, Santa Fe, NM / Contained
2001
Taos Gallery Pittsburgh, PA / Outlook/Inlook: Nicaragua
Selected Group Exhibitions
2020
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL / The Long Dream
45Library, 45Library.com / The Canary Has Been Gone for a While
Fotofocus Biennial, Contemporary Art Center Cincinnati, OH / light&
2019
Photo LA, DeSoto Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2018
MoCP, Chicago, IL / Viewfinder: Landscape and Leisure in the Collection
Louisiana State University, Glassell Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA / Sites of Build Up, Sites to Mine
2015
Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA / Incognito
LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions), Los Angeles, CA / Happening
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Solo Presentation
Silicone Valley Contemporary, Solo Presentation / Moving Image Experience curated by Paul Young
2014
Part-time Gallery, Los Angeles, CA / Poor/Fancy, pt. 2
Hebrew Union College Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA / Threads That Bind
2012
LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions), Los Angeles, CA / ReVisions of LA: Mobile Projections
LA Road Project, Los Angeles, CA / Mulholland Dérive
2011
1708 Gallery, Richmond, VA / InLight 2011, curated by Matthew Lyons of The Kitchen
L.A. Art Mart, Los Angeles, CA / Vertigo
Foundation for Art Resources (FAR), Long Beach, Ca / The De-socialized Landscape
2010
LAXART, Los Angeles, CA / Nine Stories
2009
Lycium Gallery, San Diego, CA / The Art of Photography, curated by Charlotte Cotton
UC, Irvine, Visual Studies Conference: “Birth/Day: Origins, Temporality, Hybridity” / Chickayy
2008
University Art Gallery, Irvine, CA / Betamax
2004
Janotta Gallery, Smith College, Northampton, MA / Senior Exhibition
2003
Smith Architects, Boston, MA / Build Boston
2001
Steel Valley Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA / Regional
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2021
Creative Capital On Our Radar recognition
2020
Team Teaching Award for Black Diamonds: Extraction and Art throughout History, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2018, 2019, 2020
Faculty Enrichment Grant, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2018
Diversity Infusion Grant, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Faculty Enrichment Grant, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2014
Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation Grant
2013
Nazarian Family Foundation Finishing Grant
2011 - 2013
Six Points Fellowship Two Year Artist Stipend and Project Grant
2012
Teaching Recognition Award and Exhibition, Hollywood Media Arts Academy
2011
Artist Bailout Project Grant
2009
Claire Trevor School of the Arts Exhibition Grant
2008
The Center for Global Peace Studies Project Grant
Medici Scholars Summer Research Grant, UC Irvine
Studio Art Department Travel Grant, UC Irvine
2007 - 2011
Full Tuition Merit Scholarship and Stipend, UC Irvine
2006
Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs Merit Scholarship and Living Stipend
2005
First Place in Best Lesbian Photography Competition, Curve Magazine
2004
Hoxie Career Development Grant, Smith College
Smith Fund Award for Travel
2003
Calkins Fund ---for Photographic Work, Madrid, Spain
2001
Finalist, Photographer's Forum, Best of College Photographers
2000
Most Influential LGBT Youth Individual, Triangle Foundation, Michigan
1998
100 Most Influential Activists Under 25 Award, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Publications by Jonas Becker
2020
West Virginia University Press, The Opioid Epidemic and US Culture: Expression, Art and Politics in the Age of Addiction, “A Hole is not a Void: Extraction, Addiction and Aesthetics”
2016
On Curating, “Like When the Teacher Leaves the Classroom,“ July Edition
publications About Jonas Becker
2018
Contemporary Art Museum Houston, Walls Turned Sideways: Artists Confront the Justice System, by Risa Puleo
Louisiana State University, Glassell Gallery, Baton Rouge, Sites of Build UP, Sites to Mine, Essay by Kristine Thompson
2017
New Museum/MIT Press, Critical Anthologies in Art and Culture, Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility, “Dynamic Static,” by Nicole Archer
2014
Craft Contemporary, Los Angeles, The Pile, Essay by Jenni Sorkin
press
2021
DAMN Magazine, “Road Tripping Through America,” January Edition
2019
Art Practical, “Faltering Towards Extinction,” November 6
2017
Art Practical, “The Tall Tales of Jonas Becker,” August 17
2016
Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles, “Women Talking About Barney,” January, 2016
Artillery Magazine, “Guest Lecture: Jonas N.T. Becker,” January Edition, 2016
2015
Art Ltd., “A Patchwork Quilt,” March 2015
KCRW (NPR): Art Talk, “Man Made Quilts and Jonas Becker,” February 12, 2015
LA Weekly, “Art Picks: Five Free Art Shows You Should See in L.A. This Week,” February 4, 2015
LA Times, “Datebook: Vintage Car Design, Objects of Desire, Flight of the Bumblebee,” January 22, 2015
2014
Los Angeles Times, “Shulamit Gallery shows Jonas N.T. Becker debut,” February 9, 2014
Artillery Magazine, “Jonas N.T. Becker at Shulamit Gallery,” January 29, 2014
Jewish Journal, “Time is of the essence in ‘Zol Zayn’ Exhibition,” February 26, 2014
The Yiddish Daily Forward, “News from Los Angeles,” January 22, 2014
KCRW (NPR), “A video meditation on one of life’s big questions,” January 10, 2014
2012
LA Weekly, "Five Artsy Things to Do This Week": December 19th, 2012
KCRW (NPR): All Things Considered, "Get Onboard the Mobile Pinhole Project": May 31, 2012
2011
Good Magazine, "Community Arts Organizations Get Their Bailout Money": December 12, 2011
2010
Octopus Journal, The Journal of the Visual Studies Program at the University of California, Irvine, "72 Hours"
Lilith Magazine, "Deep in the Valley": Fall Edition
Dominion Post, "Becker Showcase Opens": March 31
2009
"The Art of Photography," curated by Charlotte Cotton
San Diego News Network, "Review: 'Art of Photography' a lens into life.": Sept. 24
2008
The Forward Newspaper, "Everything Old is New Again": August 1
2003
Morning Edition NPR: "Revisiting How the Birth of the Atomic Bomb at New Mexico's Trinity Site Changed History": February 27
Guest Lectures and Speaking Engagements
2021
Mana Contemporary, Chicago, IL: Climate & Sustainability Symposium: Artist Talk, April 24 [upcoming]
Center for the Environment, Ecological Design, Smith College, Northampton, MA: Artist Talk, April 8 [upcoming]
2020
Filter Photo, Chicago, IL: “Tarrah Krajnak in conversation with Jonas Becker,” November 20
2019
Appalachian Carpathian Mountain Conference, “A Hole is Not a Void” Brasov, Romania October, 2019
Northwestern University, Art, Theory, and Practice Visiting Artist May 2019
Appalachian Studies Association Conference, Opioid Aesthetics Panel, “Ecologies of Extraction”
Lousiana State University, Art Department, Baton Rouge, LA: Visiting Artist Lecture
2018
Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL: Artist Talk, July 18
DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL: Halfway to California: A Conversation about Midwest Aesthetics: “Flyover Aesthetics,” July
2017
Claremont Colleges, Claremont, CA: Claremont Discourse: Art, the Environment, and Social Justice Panel, February 8
2016
Bard College Master's in Teaching Program, Los Angeles, CA: "How Can Black Mountain College Matter to Schools Today?"
2013
Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, CA: “Enter a Camera, Photo on the Go,”
2012
Scripps College, Claremont, CA: Artist Lecture: Jonas Becker
2011
Scripps College, Claremont, CA: Beauty and Aesthetics in Photography
Scripps College, Claremont, CA: The Mechanical Eye: Photography from Science to Art
2010
Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA: "Intersections in Video Installation and Architecture"
2009
UC, Irvine: "Interdisciplinary Panel on Authorship and Contemporary Conceptual Photography" (presenter)
Research and Curatorial Projects
2011- Present
Mobile Pinhole Project, Los Angeles, CA, Founding Director and Lead Instructor
The Mobile Pinhole Project brings experiential photography workshops to youth in neighborhoods across Los Angeles using a van turned into a giant pinhole camera—allowing youth literally inside the camera.
2018-2019
Non-Conforming Exhibition, Mana Contemporary, Chicago, IL , Curator
Non-Conforming featured Los Angeles-based artists whose projects “act out” against formal, cinematic, and social conventions.
2017
Technology, Mediation and Art Speakers Series, Scripps College, Claremont, CA, Organizer
Four speaker series and one 2 week workshop funded by J.C. Harper and O’Brien lecture funds.
2016
OnCurating, Zurich, Switzerland - Guest Editor, Issue 31
OnCurating is a print and online journal on curatorial practice and theory.
2009
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, Research Intern
Created an interactive map for New Topographics locating exhibited photographs in the U.S.
2008
Everywhere Gallery, Founder and Curator
A curated exhibition space viewed via mobile devices.
View Source Labs, Founding Member
A cross-disciplinary research lab in arts, computations, and engineering with a focus on authorship.
Residencies
2019-2020
Latitude Artist Residency, Chicago, IL
2018-2019
Mana Contemporary Curatorial Residency, Chicago, IL
2016 - 2019
Lucas Artist Residency Fellowship at Montalvo Art Center, Saratoga, CA
2017-2018
Artist-in-Residence, Mana Contemporary, Chicago, IL
2015
Saas-Fee Summer Art Institute hosted by the European Graduate School, Saas-Fee, Switzerland
2012 - 2013
Yiddishkayt Artist in Residence, Los Angeles, Belarus & Poland
2010
Klezkanada Filmmaking Residency, Lantier, Quebec, Canada
Teaching Experience
2017-present
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL - Assistant Professor
Photography Department
2016-2017
Scripps College - Visiting Assistant Professor
Photography
2012 - 2017
Art Institute, North Hollywood, CA & Art Institute, Los Angeles - Adjunct Faculty
Photography, Video, and Art Theory
2011 - 2017
Mobile Pinhole Project, youth photography workshop; Los Angeles, CA - Director and Lead Instructor
The Mobile Pinhole Project brings experiential photography workshops to youth in neighborhoods across Los Angeles using an innovative tool—a van turned into a giant pinhole camera—allowing youth literally inside the camera to explore culture and place.
Exploring Identity through Photography workshop series, Various Locations - Instructor
Developed workshops for Beth Am Synagogue, Yiddishkeit Helix Program, Alexandria House After school, Kol Ami Youth Program and others
2013
Scripps College, Claremont, CA - Adjunt Professor
Introduction to Black & White Photography
2011 - 2013
Artworx LA, Los Angeles, CA - Teaching Artist & Curriculum Design
Visual Mapping Course; Re-Designing New Spaces for Exhibition Course
2011 - 2012
Hollywood Media Arts Academy High School, Los Angeles, CA - Instructor
Photography, Video, and Art History
2011
Holga Inspire; Los Angeles, CA - Instructor
Holga Camera Photography Course
2010
University of California, Irvine , CA - Instructor
Introduction to Photography
2009 - 2010
Orange Coast College; Costa Mesa, CA - Teaching Fellow
Community College Teaching Fellowship :Responsibilities included substitute teaching, editing a text- book, and developing curriculum.
2008 - 2009
University of California, Irvine, CA - Teaching Assistant
Performance Art, Visual Culture, Advanced Photography, Contemporary Art Theory
2005 - 2006
International Center for Photography: The Point Outreach Center; Bronx, NY - Co-Instructor
Youth Photography and Art History Course
SELECTED WORK EXPERIENCE
2010 - 2011
David LaChapelle Studios, Los Angeles, CA: archivist, creative consultant, writer
2008 - 2010
Box Gallery, Los Angeles, CA: intern and gallery asisstant
2009
Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Los Angeles, CA: research intern with Charlotte Cotton`
2008 - 2009
University of California, Irvine: darkroom lab assistant
2008
Artist and Writer Catherine Lord, Los Angeles, CA: artist assistant
Cameron Siemers Foundation, Irvine, CA: non-profit consultant and fundraiser
2006 - 2008
American Apparel, International Division: junior architect and project manager
2005
Arnold Newman Studio, New York, NY: studio assistant
2004 - 2005
MOVK Design, New York, NY: junior architect
2003
Vogue Magazine, Madrid, Spain: imaging and photography intern
2002 - 2004
Special Collections Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA: curatorial assistant
Skills
Community Organizing, Fundraising, Non-Profit and Business Consulting, Budget management (maximum managed to date is 1.5 million), Operating Media-Ready Lecture Facilities, Wood and Metal Shop Safety Procedures, Operation of all Sculpture Shop Tools (power and hand tools), Welding, Casting, Operating a Kiln, Advanced Black & White and Color Darkroom, Professional Studio Lighting, Wet-Mount Negative Scanning (all film formats), Alternative Darkroom Processes (Platinum Printing, Cyanotype, Bleaching, and others), Large Format Photography, Medium Format & 35mm Photography, Digital SLR, Photoshop CS5, Operating DV and HDV video cameras and Final Cut Pro