Shawn Theodore

Shawn Theodore (b. 1970) was born in Germany to American parents from Philadelphia, and currently lives and works in Philadelphia. Theodore was awarded the prestigious PDN’s 30 New & Emerging Photographers to Watch (2019), the Getty Images / ARRAY ‘Where We Stand’ grant, and a grant from the Knight Foundation for ‘A Dream Deferred’. Theodore was a two-time nominee for the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Fellowship and a nominee for the Magnum Foundation Fund. He is an Associate Adjunct Professor at the University of the Arts, a trustee of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, and a former trustee of the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center. 

Theodore first came into prominence for his color-saturated, silhouette-focused street photography work which garnered the attention of several media outlets as well as consumer-focused companies due to its graphic and illustrative nature. The first solo exhibition of his street photography was of his first photography project, ‘The Avenues’ in 2015 at the Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia, as a part of Re-PLACE-ing Philadelphia, which was supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. 

His first museum solo exhibition entitled Church of Broken Pieces opened at The African American Museum in Philadelphia from February 2, 2017, to April 2, 2017. This exhibition was a survey of over 50 photographic artworks made by the artist and traveled to Richard Beavers Gallery from September 16, 2017, to November 17, 2017. The artist was awarded a grant from Getty Images / ARRAY ‘Where We Stand’ for this specific project in 2018.

In 2017 he debuted his third photography project Future Antebellum at the Art Sanctuary in Philadelphia, presented by the African American Museum in Philadelphia. The exhibition was on view from June 9, 2017, to August 31, 2017. Many of the works from Future Antebellum traveled internationally in group exhibitions and fairs following its debut. 

One of the artist’s works, ‘Mood’ was the feature image of ‘Black Art Matters - Contemporary Black Photography’ an international group exhibition held in Zurich, Switzerland, from July 11, 2020, to August 23, 2020. In 2021 The New Freedom Theatre in Philadelphia, where the Future Antebellum project was created, in conjunction with Mural Arts Philadelphia, produced two works (Dubhe and Unmasked)  for use as murals on the facade of The New Freedom Theatre. 

Continuing his work of creating archives of the experiences of the Black community, in 2018 Theodore was the primary artist for ‘A Dream Deferred: PHL Redlining – Past, Present, Future (2018)’ which tells the story of how race and policy shaped the landscape of Philadelphia and the lives of its residents. This project and exhibition were funded by a grant from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

In 2018, the artist participated in the 50-State initiative coordinated by For Freedoms. The 50-State Initiative used art as a call for action and engagement in the lead-up to the midterm elections of that year. The work the artist created for this project culminated in a group exhibition called ‘Yearbook’ with photographers Danna Singer and Daniel Traub at the TILT Institute (formerly the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center) in partnership with Mural Arts Philadelphia and was made possible by the support of The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

In 2016, the artist began working in collage. Drawing on the tradition of working in this medium, Theodore’s autobiographical series entitled These Subtle Declarations creates hybridized portraits that transpose, combine, and juxtapose family photos of himself and of male relatives to create alternative meanings and new narratives. The artist seeks to memorialize and honor his younger self through the recontextualizing of family photographs to recall the power, identity, and traumas experienced with his immediate family. The artist premiered this series in the group exhibition, ‘Refraction: New Photography of Africa and its Diaspora’ at the Steven Kasher Gallery in New York City. This exhibition ran from April 19, 2018, to June 2, 2018. 

In 2019 his collage work was featured in The New York Times ‘What Reparations for Slavery Might Look Like in 2019’, in 2020 the New Republic ‘From Black Power to Black Establishment’ and  ‘Bookerism and the Black Elite’, and  ‘The Fight to Decolonize the Museum’ was featured in The Atlantic.

Theodore’s first photographic monograph Birmingham was published by Kris Graves Projects in 2019. The book was made over a month’s time from the artist walking and photographing the various neighborhoods that constitute Birmingham, Alabama. The book examines the physical relationship between the African American community and its future while utilizing socioeconomic disparities as a contextual framework.

For a complete CV, please download it here.