Tiffany Pierce, born in Indianapolis in 1992, is a current MFA candidate at Herron School of Art and Design studying photography. Greatly influenced by her degree in Human Development and Family Studies, as well as the recent, sudden loss of her father her work explores elements and events that compromise human identity such as gender, family, and mortality. The development of one’s identity and the social constructs that influence it are common themes addressed in her work. Always interested in an image’s capability to capture or create identity, she creates staged photographs, collages, and dioramas as a method to explore individual or societal constructs. Set to graduate in the spring of 2019, Tiffany’s experiences with loss, her empathetic sensibilities, and interest in human development influence the work she is doing today.

Jedediah Johnson wants you to like him. He was born in 1979 on the east side of Indianapolis. He is an artist currently working and living in the same house in which he was raised on that same east side of Indianapolis. The journey that brought him back to that house took him through Los Angeles, where in 2009 he received his BFA in Photography from Art Center College of Design, and Chicago where in 2013 he received his MFA in Studio Art from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. Jedediah is funny. Jedediah loves television. He enjoys sports but doesn’t watch them often and never plays them. He also believes in justice and equality and is not afraid to tell an authority figure that they are wrong. He has been overweight most of his life and only just recently decided that is just fine. Jedediah believes that a work of art with any real value is going to be beloved by many and hated by some. Jedediah Johnson wants you to like him, but he doesn’t need you like him because he likes himself just fine.

Amanda Taves is a photographer and installation artist exploring identity against the backdrop of forensic processes. She frequently collaborates with forensic professionals, city officials, and community organizations in her practice. Prior to receiving her BFA in Photography from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Taves cultivated a visual literacy program at The Night Ministry and interned with Industry of the Ordinary. Her work has been curated by New York Museum of Modern Art curator, Kelly Sidley, and she has participated as a panelist and visiting instructor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her photographs have been exhibited nationally at venues such as the Phoenix Museum of Art and Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art. Taves is the recipient of various awards including a Chicago Cultural Center CAAP Grant, Goldman Sachs Scholarship, and an Endsley Fellowship, among others. She currently resides in Chicago with her husband and parrot.