This winter-spring, CPW (formerly the Center for Photography at Woodstock) presents a dynamic line-up of exhibitions spotlighting visionary voices in contemporary photography—both emerging and established— whose work challenges conventions of representation, history, and belonging. Headlining the program is the first retrospective of the late Nona Faustine, whose fearless, history-defining images transformed the conversation on race and representation in America.
The first-ever retrospective of artist Nona Faustine (1969–2025) celebrates one of the most fearless and transformative voices in contemporary photography. Drawing from her multiple groundbreaking series—including White Shoes, Mitochondria, and My Country— the exhibition illuminates how Faustine electrified the art world and redefined the political image through maternal, ancestral, and feminist lenses.
Faustine’s unflinching and often shocking photographs boldly interrogate America’s racist past, most notably in self-portraits taken at former slave auction sites, while her intimate depictions of her mother, daughter, and sister honor Black womanhood as a source of history, knowledge, and resilience. This presentation offers a rare opportunity to experience the full scope of Faustine’s artistic vision; in 2019, CPW showed Faustine’s White Shoes work in its group exhibition, Photography Now: Searchers, juried by curators Maurice Berger and Marvin Heiferman.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a limited-edition artist’s book offering intimate insight into Nona Faustine’s creative process and her collaboration with her sister, Channon Faustine. Featuring personal reflections and behind-the-scenes stories about the making of White Shoes, the publication reveals the depth of the artist’s vision and the revolutionary, enduring legacy of her work.
Nona Faustine : What My Mother Gave Me
January 31 – May 10, 2026
CPW Kingston
25 Dederick St.
Kingston, NY 12401
Thursday to Sunday 11am – 5pm
Free admission
cpw.org
