Mimi Plumb

Mimi Plumb

Fellow: Awarded 2022
Field of Study: Photography

Competition: US & Canada

Born in Berkeley, and raised in the suburb of Walnut Creek, Mimi Plumb is part of a long tradition of socially engaged photographers concerned with California and the West. Her projects explore a wide range of subjects with a clear aesthetic, from her suburban roots in The White Sky to urban and rural dystopias in Landfall and The Golden City. In the 1970s, she photographed the United Farmworkers as they organized for union elections. Throughout her career, Plumb’s photographs convey narratives that are simultaneously ominous, seductive, and compassionate. She is currently photographing the impact of climate change in California.

Plumb has published three monographs, Landfall (TBW Books, 2018), The White Sky (Stanley/Barker 2020) and The Golden City (Stanley/Barker 2021). Her photographs are in the collection of the San Francisco Museum of Art, Art Collection Deutsche Börse, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Pier 24, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Yale University Art Gallery. She is the recipient of grants from the John Gutmann Photography Fellowship, California Art Council, and California Humanities. Plumb taught photography for 28 years at various institutions including San Jose State University, San Francisco Art Institute, Stanford University and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Photo Credit: Mimi Plumb

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