Jaclyn Silverman
Jaclyn Silverman is a photographer and professor from Youngstown, Ohio, living in Chicago, Illinois. She received her BFA in Photographic Studies from The Ohio State University, and her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Silverman was the recipient of the Fergus Family Endowment for the Arts and Denman Research Grant at The Ohio State University, and Women Artists Against Racism in Youngstown, Ohio, for her ongoing visual narrative, The Working Family. Her work is part of permanent collections at The Ohio State University, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The Joan Flasch Artists’ Book Collection where she and R. Clarke-Davis, curated Within the Portfolios 1968-2016; a History of Photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She received commission by Theaster Gates for photographic installations published in conjunction with the exhibition, “A Johnson Publishing Story” at Stony Island Arts Bank. Her work has been exhibited in Colorado, Ohio, and Illinois. Silverman has held teaching positions at The Ohio State University and Dominican University, and Visiting Artist with Grenfell College Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada . She is a founding member of Chicago artist residency and non-profit organization, CPS Lives, where she held the position as Artistic Director. Currently, she is a Part-time Professor of Art and Humanities with the City Colleges of Chicago, returning faculty with OxBow School of Art, and beginning her third year as artist-in-residence with George Washington High School for the collaborative project, East Side Volume One.
Portrait by Devina Yoestong
Stories from Jaclyn Silverman
Jaclyn Silverman & East Side Volume One
Project Overview
Hegewisch and East Side have strong roots in rich intergenerational family histories. The farthest southern neighborhood in Chicago, George Washington High School is surrounded by the active industrial landscape of iron and steel. Using mobile phones, students will create unique books of photography with an emphasis in storytelling and personal response as visualization of their history, in their place, in this moment in time. The books will be collected by the Hegewisch Public Library for neighbors and visitors to “check out” as a permanent piece of history, as told by its residents. This project will continue to grow throughout the upcoming years, following each student through graduation.
