B E T T Y   P R E S S ,   P H O T O G R A P H E R

EXHIBITION AVAILABLE

Africa in images and proverbs is an exhibition, which includes 20-40 black and white images selected from my African work taken all over East and West Africa since 1987. The images of daily life deal with knowledge, cooperation, love, beauty, friendship, hope, humor, sorrow, happiness, gratitude, dance, tradition, faith, peace, war, and human relationships.  These are the same themes found in African proverbial language: thus the idea of coupling the images with proverbs.  Together they offer a powerful expression of African life and the universality of human emotions, ideas, and knowledge. 

The show highlights the importance of proverbs, which were used, and are still being used, to instruct members of the African society how to think, how to behave and how to have a better life. This exhibition makes a significant educational and artistic contribution to the appreciation and understanding of African culture and society as well as our own.

 

 

WORK EXPERIENCE

Fall 2003 to present, Adjunct Instructor, Photography, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg

1996 to 2003- Adjunct Instructor, Photography; Stetson University, Deland, Florida

 

MAJOR SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS           

• Africa in images and proverbs, University of La Verne, La Verne, California  March-April 2005
• Africa in images and proverbs, The New Gallery, University of Miami, Florida  Jan-Feb 2005
• Reflections of Africa, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Lakewood, Colorado Oct 2004     
• Reflections of Africa, Lycoming College, Williamsport, Pennsylvania  February  2004     
• Covered and Uncovered: Photographs and African masks, Art League, Daytona Beach, Florida   August-September 2003
• Reflections of Africa: Photographs from Africa and the Diaspora, Baldwin Photographic Gallery, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, March-April 2003     
• Travelers’ Tales: World Views, Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, Florida   October 2000-February 2001
• Lens of the eye – Fabric of the Mind, University Gallery, College of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida   May-July 2000
• “Photographs from Africa,” African American Museum of the Arts, DeLand, Florida   December 1999-January 2000
• Reflections of Africa: Photographs from Cuba, Trinidad, and Belize, Harris House of the Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida   October 1999
• Photographs from Africa, Mount Dora Center for the Arts, Mount Dora, Florida  October-November 1999
• One World: Photographs from Mali, Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, Florida  October 1997
• Yearnings: Photographs from Florida, Duncan Gallery of Art, Stetson University, DeLand, Florida   June-July 1997
• Mali: Fringe of the Fantastic, FotoFusion, Palm Beach Photographic Society, Delray Beach, Florida   January 1997
• The Power of the Spirit: The African Independent Church Movement, French Cultural Centre, Nairobi, Kenya   May 1995.  It was also exhibited at The African Studies Association Meeting, Orlando, Florida   November 1995
• African Moments: Black and White Photographs from East and West Africa, Gallery Watatu, Nairobi, Kenya   October 1990. This show traveled to: The Charles Sumner School Museum, Washington, DC   March-May 1993; Principia College, Elsah, Illinois   February 1993; The Deland Museum of Art, DeLand, Florida    February-April 1992

 

 

SELECTED GROUP SHOWS, JURIED COMPETITIONSAND AWARDS

• The Art of Photography Show, The Lyceum  Theatre Gallery, San Diego, CA April-May 2008, Lensbaby Award
• Denver International Airport,  February-May 2007
• 2006 International Exhibition of Fine Art Photography, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, Colorado.  Juror: Phillip Brookman, Corcoran Gallery, Washington, DC.
• ReFresh Print Biennial II:  2006 juried competition.  University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Touring exhibition  2006-2008.
• Rising Ohr, 2006 juried competion: Ohr-O’keefe Museum of  Art, Biloxi, Mississippi
• Critical Mass:  2005 juried competition. Photo Lucida, Portland, Oregon.  Top 50 Finalists.
• Global Collection of Photography 2005, Jamestown Community College’s Weeks Gallery, Jamestown, New York  Summer 2005
• Beauty: Camera Eye of the Beholder, www.WomenInPhotography.org, On-line Exhibition, June-September 2005, Honorable Mention
• Mississippi Art Faculty juried exhibition, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel, Mississippi April-May 2005
• Decisive Moments, A Tribute to Henri Cartier-Bresson, Women in Photography On-line Exhibition,  January-February 2005, Honorable Mention
• ARTifacts, Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas  Sept-Oct 2004
• Visual Proof, 9th Annual Photographic Competition Exhibition, Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, Washington  July-August  2004 Honorable Mention Award
• Beggars and Choosers:  Motherhood is Not a Class Privilege in America. Moving Walls, Open Society Institute, New York City  June 2004
• American Vision: An Invitational Exhibition, Elmira College, Elmira, New York  January 2004
• Beggars and Choosers:  Motherhood is Not a Class Privilege in America, touring exhibition at several college and university art galleries beginning fall 2002  www.beggarsandchoosers.org
• 100 Universes: An International Accordion Book of Prints, Contemporary Crafts Gallery, Portland, Oregon  October – November 2001
• A Shared Legacy: Documentary Photography of Florida from the 1930’s and Today.  Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, Florida  September-November 2003
• Bold and Beautiful, Florida Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida,  October 2002
• 7th Biennial Juried Competition in Southeastern Photography, Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, Florida   April-June 2001
• Women in the Visual Arts, Erector Square Gallery, New Haven CT     March 2000 
• The Members Biennial, A Juried Visual Arts Exhibition, Deland Museum of Art, Deland, Florida   December 1999 and September 2001
• Audrey Hepburn a woman, the style, Museo Salvatore Ferragamo Florence, Italy   May 1999
• Stetson Faculty Art Exhibition, Stetson University, Deland, Florida   1998, 2001, 2003
• Florida Biennial III, Gulf Coast Museum of Art, Belleair, Florida October 1998
• Transitions, Women in Photojournalism Exhibition, NPPA; Denver April 1997
• Finalist in Ernst Haas Awards competition, Maine Photographic Workshops  1995
• "Book of Days," Weekly Calendar published by Danny N. Schweers  1995
• Rencontres de la Photographie Africaine, Bamako, Mali   December 1994
• Nominated by UNICEF for the Harry Chapin Media Awards, New York City 1994
• UNICEF Exhibitions of UNICEF activities, New York City   1993,94
• Kenya Arts Festival, Kenya Museum Society, Nairobi 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
• Women in Photography Celebrate Freedom, Photography Center, Los Angeles   Feb 1992

 

PHOTOGRAPHY EXPERIENCE

• 1987 - July 1995  Photojournalist (Based in Nairobi, Kenya covering East and West Africa)
• Primary assignments for The Christian Science Monitor
• Other major assignments for UNICEF, UNHCR, Newsweek, U.S. News and World Reports, The New York Times, Africa Report, African Farmer, BBC Books.
• My photos have appeared in many leading magazines and newspapers includingLife, Newsweek, Time, National Geographic, Audubon, World Monitor, Smithsonian, Ms, The Atlantic Monthly, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times.  They have also been used by educational textbooks, encyclopedias and development agencies such as Catholic Relief Services, Pathfinder, Mary Knoll, The Episcopal Church, Trickle Up Program and Oxfam.
• Special Assignments for UNICEF.  Covered Audrey Hepburn’s goodwill ambassador’s trip to Somalia, 1992 (these photographs have appeared in numerous books and magazines) and Harry Belafonte’s trip to Rwanda in 1994.

 

 

EDUCATION

• BA in Education: Nebraska Wesleyan University   Lincoln, Nebraska                          
• Certificate:  Data Processing: Dekalb Community College    Atlanta, Georgia
• Photography courses:  University of Michigan Art School   Ann Arbor, Michigan

 

 

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Audrey Hepburn, an elegant spirit: a son remembers by Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Atria Books.  2003
• The New Africa: Dispatches from a Changing Continent by Robert M. Press/ Photographs by Betty Press, University of Florida Press   1999   More than 100 photographs. The Best from the University Presses - 2000  Book Award:
• A Global Affair: An Inside Look at the United Nations, Jones & Janello 1995 Photos used on front and back cover, also inside.
• Clive Anderson: Our Man in..., BBC Books. Anderson’s visit to Masai Mara, Kenya. 1995
• Somalia: Missed Opportunities, US Institute of Peace Press, 1994.  Cover photo

 

 

 

 

SELECTED COLLECTIONS and COMMISSIONS

• Baldwin Photographic Gallery, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
• Permanent Collection of The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
• Peter Palmquist collection of Women in Photography
• The Harry Ransom Center for the Humanities, The University of Texas, Austin
• Jamestown Community College, Jamestown, New York
• Public Art Commission, Volusia County Courthouse, Florida
• Public Art Commission, Florida Department of Transportation, Deland, Florida
• Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona Beach, Florida 
• Stetson University, Deland, Florida
• Maitland Art Center, Maitland, Florida                       
• Halifax Foundation, Port Orange, Florida
• Numerous private collections

 

 

REPRESENTATION

• Woodfin Camp & Associates, New York (212) 481-6900, woodfin@pipeline.com
• Panos Pictures, London, UK 44 (207) 234 0010, pics@panos.co.uk
• Photographic Image Group, Portland, Oregon, 603 224 3543, staff@photographicimage.com
• RAMOMA, Rahimatulla African Museum of Modern Art, Nairobi, Kenya
• ArtSeen, Bethesda, Maryland 301 229 2664 June@ArtSeenInc.com
• International Visions Gallery, Washington, DC  www.inter-visions.com

 

 

REFERENCES

• Ellen Tolmie, Photo Editor, UNICEF, New York (212) 326 7281, etolmie@unicef.org
• Dr. Roberta Favis, Art Historian, Stetson University Art Department., DeLand, Florida (386) 822 7266 or rfavis@stetson.edu
• Dr. Alison Nordström, Curator of Photography, George Eastman House/International Museum of Photography, Rochester, New York, anordstrom@geh.org