Judi Bommarito
Adjunct Faculty
BFA, College for Creative Studies
jbommarito@ccsdetroit.edu
Photo documentation of the city of Detroit. Particularly interested in creating images that portray a visual narrative of hope and resilience amidst abandonment and decay.
Exploration of the visual narrative with the inclusion of photo compositing. The idea of “assembly” offers boundless possibilities.
Years spent as the lead mentor for the Focus:HOPE Excel after school photography program evolved into to the development of workshops which teach camera fundamentals, Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
Professional Experience
Judi Bommarito is a Detroit based conceptual visual storyteller and fine art photographer. She has been an adjunct instructor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, since 1999, where she also earned her BFA.
Her work has been shown and has received numerous awards both nationally and internationally. Her documentary series entitled, The SPACE Between The Cracks, poignantly addresses her mother’s struggle with mental illness and ultimately reveals the universal longing for love and acceptance. This series was featured in a solo exhibition and was included in two group shows entitled “Nature/Nurture” at the Salisbury University Art Galleries and “Here Today” at the Center for Photography at Woodstock. This series has been the recipient of numerous awards, most notably, 2012 Grand Prize recognition by juror and American photographer, Mary Ellen Mark, who continued to mentor Judi until her death in 2015.
Judi has continued this healing journey with her most recent solo exhibition and lecture that merges five series together form “Reclaiming Your Outside Voice” at the University of Cincinnati. This work has also been included in a group show, “The Art of Healing” at dk Gallery in Marietta GA and was a Photolucida Critical Mass Finalist 2024.
Judi’s work contests the divisions between imagery and experience. Using layering and moving between the translucent and opaque, her photographs draw on experiences of loss and abandonment to confront the nuances of memory. Observing the shifts on perception that occur between moments in time and how they are received, Judi creates these moments of reflection to offer hope and light to others.
EXHIBITIONS
Solo Exhibition/Lecture – University of Cincinnati, Clermont
Group Exhibition – The Art of Healing, dk Gallery, Marietta GA
AWARDS
Photolucida Critical Mass Top 200 Finalist
Significant Publications, Presentations and Exhibitions
Publications
Manifest International Photography Annual 7 (INPHA 7) 2020
Immigrantopolis – Editor and Curator Anna Fiń – Department of Sociology of Culture Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland
“30 by 30” blog series by 30 women contemporary photographers
Featured Article in “Imprints” magazine for professional women photographers
“Polaroid Manipulations” by Kathleen Thormod Carr
