Skip to page content

Capturing the Echo: Expanding the Walls 2022

August 1, 2022–July 17, 2023

The photography exhibition Capturing the Echo: Expanding the Walls 2022 features work by the sixteen artists in the 2022 cohort of the Museum’s annual program, Expanding the Walls: Making Connections between Photography, History, and Community. This year’s online edition of the exhibition marks the program’s twenty-second anniversary.


View the exhibition at www.expandingthewalls.studiomuseum.org.


Founded in 2001, Expanding the Walls unites a cohort of New York City-based teenage artists to develop their own language as visual storytellers. Over the course of eight months, participants engage with the photographs of Gordon Parks, Jamel Shabazz, Ming Smith, and Carrie Mae Weems, among others. Participants are additionally guided through an in-depth exploration of the archive of Harlem photographer James Van Der Zee, whose extensive archive has been a constant touchstone for intergenerational dialogue and formal exploration in Expanding the Walls.

For more than two decades, Expanding the Walls encourages participants to explore and define their artistic practices while building community through workshops, gallery visits, intensive darkroom training, and discussions led by contemporary artists. The program continues to be a source and site for critical and creative skill-building through photography and the creative process.

Capturing the Echo: Expanding the Walls 2022 is organized by Starasea Camara, Curatorial Fellow, Permanent Collection; Zainab Floyd, Rauschenberg Curatorial Fellow; and Simon Ghebreyesus, Curatorial Fellow, Exhibitions; with Gi (Ginny) Huo, former Youth Programs Manager, and the 2022 Expanding the Walls participants.

Expanding the Walls
and youth programs are made possible with support from The Keith Haring Foundation Education Fund; Joy of Giving Something; Conscious Kids; New York State Council on the Arts; Colgate-Palmolive; Hearst Endowment Fund; and the Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Trust. The Studio Museum’s education programs are supported by the Thompson Foundation Education Fund; Llewellyn Family Foundation; Van Cleef & Arpels; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; Gray Foundation; Con Edison; May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation; Sony Music Group; and Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts. Support for digital programming has been provided by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation’s Frankenthaler Digital Initiative. Additional support is generously provided by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The Studio Museum in Harlem is deeply grateful for Donna Van Der Zee’s continued support of Expanding the Walls.

Explore More

Capturing the Echo: Expanding the Walls 2022

August 1, 2022–July 17, 2023

The photography exhibition Capturing the Echo: Expanding the Walls 2022 features work by the sixteen artists in the 2022 cohort of the Museum’s annual program, Expanding the Walls: Making Connections between Photography, History, and Community. This year’s online edition of the exhibition marks the program’s twenty-second anniversary.


View the exhibition at www.expandingthewalls.studiomuseum.org.


Founded in 2001, Expanding the Walls unites a cohort of New York City-based teenage artists to develop their own language as visual storytellers. Over the course of eight months, participants engage with the photographs of Gordon Parks, Jamel Shabazz, Ming Smith, and Carrie Mae Weems, among others. Participants are additionally guided through an in-depth exploration of the archive of Harlem photographer James Van Der Zee, whose extensive archive has been a constant touchstone for intergenerational dialogue and formal exploration in Expanding the Walls.

For more than two decades, Expanding the Walls encourages participants to explore and define their artistic practices while building community through workshops, gallery visits, intensive darkroom training, and discussions led by contemporary artists. The program continues to be a source and site for critical and creative skill-building through photography and the creative process.

Capturing the Echo: Expanding the Walls 2022 is organized by Starasea Camara, Curatorial Fellow, Permanent Collection; Zainab Floyd, Rauschenberg Curatorial Fellow; and Simon Ghebreyesus, Curatorial Fellow, Exhibitions; with Gi (Ginny) Huo, former Youth Programs Manager, and the 2022 Expanding the Walls participants.

Expanding the Walls
and youth programs are made possible with support from The Keith Haring Foundation Education Fund; Joy of Giving Something; Conscious Kids; New York State Council on the Arts; Colgate-Palmolive; Hearst Endowment Fund; and the Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Trust. The Studio Museum’s education programs are supported by the Thompson Foundation Education Fund; Llewellyn Family Foundation; Van Cleef & Arpels; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; Gray Foundation; Con Edison; May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation; Sony Music Group; and Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts. Support for digital programming has been provided by the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation’s Frankenthaler Digital Initiative. Additional support is generously provided by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The Studio Museum in Harlem is deeply grateful for Donna Van Der Zee’s continued support of Expanding the Walls.

Explore More