Carrie Mae Weems was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1953. Weems earned a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts, Valencia (1981), and an MFA from the University of California, San Diego (1984), continuing her studies in the Graduate Program in Folklore at the University of California, Berkeley (1984–87).
Weems is widely renowned as one of the most influential contemporary American artists living today. Over the course of her prolific career, she has developed a complex body of work employing text, fabric, audio, digital images, installation, and video, but she is most celebrated as a photographer. Activism is central to Weems’ practice, which investigates race, family relationships, cultural identity, sexism, class, political systems, and the consequences of power. Through her work, Weems tackles a number of complex contemporary issues, demanding reconsideration of predominant narratives throughout our history.
Weems has received numerous awards, grants, and fellowships, including the prestigious Prix de Roma, The National Endowment of the Arts, The Tiffany Awards. In 2012, she was presented with one of the first US Department of State’s Medals of Arts in recognition for her commitment to the State Department’s Art in Embassies program. In 2013 Weems received the MacArthur “Genius” grant, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Carrie Mae Weems is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery and is currently the Artist in Residence at Syracuse University. She lives in Syracuse, New York with her husband Jeffrey Hoone who is Executive Director of Light Work.
