(1953 - )
Born in Portland, Oregon, Carrie Mae Weems attended the California Institute of the Arts and her MFA from the University of California, San Diego during the early 1980s. In San Diego, she joined a group of political artists working with photography and text, whose works explored issues of race. Weems also developed an interest in folklore and studied the subject from 1984 until 1987 at the University of California, Berkeley. This focus on folklore informs her belief that photography is a form of storytelling, expressing the human condition.
Throughout her career, Weems has won numerous awards including the Joseph H. Hazen Rome Prize Fellowship from the American Academy, Rome (2005–06) and an Honorary Doctorate from Smith College, Northampton MA (2011). In 2005, she was awarded the Distinguished Photographer's Award in recognition of her significant contributions to the world of photography. Her work is exhibited widely around the world in solo and group exhibitions and is represented in major public collections. Weems currently lives in New York.
