As a research artist, Amanda Taves examines systems of exchange and transformation. Her practice invites viewers to visualize and reconfigure existing relationships with loss and intimacy. Her investigations focus on experiences of departure and arrival to reflect on our state of perpetual metamorphosis and the instability time represents. She locates the residue of these exchanges in the everyday by exploring the traditions and rituals we use to mediate experiences of grief: experiences that add meaning to our lives and often refuse feelings of closure. By focusing on the material and psychological traces these events and processes manifest, and through collaborations with the natural world of life-sustaining and life-ending organisms, her work contemplates the interconnectedness of the physical and social ecosystems that aid in the construction of concepts of legacy and lineage.
Taves collaborates with forensic professionals, city officials, and community organizations. Prior to receiving her MFA in Photography from the University of Illinois at Chicago (2022) and BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2016), Taves cultivated a visual literacy program at The Night Ministry and interned with Industry of the Ordinary. Her work has been curated by the New York Museum of Modern Art, Phoenix Museum of Art, and the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art. She is the recipient of various awards, including a Chicago Cultural Center CAAP Grant, Endsley Fellowship, and Goldman Sachs Scholarship.
Education
2022 MFA in Photography, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2016 BFA in Photography, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Scholarships and Awards
2021 Award for Graduate Research (AGR), The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2021 Dean’s Scholar Fellowship nominee, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2016 Endsley Fellowship, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2013 Goldman Sachs Award, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2013 Dean’s List Award, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2011 Merit Scholarship, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2010 CAAP Grant, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois
2008 Eric Fischl Purchase Award, Phoenix Community College, Phoenix, Arizona
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Faith, KGAP 96.7FM, Los Angeles, California
2018 Expert Witness, Orland Park Library, Orland Park, Illinois
2014 1939-1943, John M. Flaxman Library, Chicago, Illinois
2014 Manifest, Gallery X, Chicago, Illinois
2012 Trespassing, Black Hills State University, The President’s Gallery, Spearfish, South Dakota
Group Exhibitions
2022 Stories from My Childhood, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois
At Ease: Healing in Nature, Brushwood Center, Riverwoods, Illinois
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Design Museum of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Ouroborus, Gallery 400, Chicago, Illinois
2019 Faith, Defibrillator Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Americans, Columbus State University, Rankin Arts Photography Center, Columbus, Georgia
Vicinity, Perspective Gallery, Evanston, Illinois
unconstrained, A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, Texas
Identity: Place, Valley Art Center, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
2018 Focus 2018, b.j. spoke Gallery, Huntington, New York
Bayesian/Bindle, USS Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Presence/Absence, The Tube Factory, Indianapolis, Indiana
We like small things v.2, Filter Photo Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Art from the Heartland, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, Indiana
21st International Open, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
@indymoca Instagram Takeover, iMOCA, Indianapolis, Indiana
No Man’s Land, Politits Art Coalition, Rochester, New York
View from a Stranger’s Window, Latent Image Magazine, Issue No. 13, Vancouver, Canada
ESL Spectrum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Indianapolis, Indiana
CounterCulture, Bucktown Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2016 Entity of Origin, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, Illinois
41.85193.87.6585, Mana Contemporary, Chicago, Illinois
2015 The Carousel, 1952-1987, Facets Cinematheque, Chicago, Illinois
The Carousel, 1952-1987, Anthology Film Archives, New York, New York
The Carousel, 1952-1987, Locallective (live performance), Chicago, Illinois
The Carousel, 1952-1987, University of Chicago, Gallery 400, Chicago, Illinois
2012 Resurrection, Dispatch Art Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Reflection and Projection, Push Pin Gallery, Ogden Museum, New Orleans, Louisiana
Portraits, Upstream People Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2008 Selected Student Work, Phoenix Community College, Phoenix, Arizona
Eric Fischl Vanguard Exhibit, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona
Western Eye, Phoenix Community College, Phoenix, Arizona
Teaching and Related Experience
2022 Assistant Professor, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2019 Visiting Artist, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, Illinois, 10/19
2018 Visiting Instructor, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2015 Visiting Instructor, The Night Ministry, Chicago, Illinois
Professional Experience
2021 Visiting Researcher, The Forensic Anthropology Research Facility, San Marcos, Texas
2014 Panel Discussion, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
2013 Internship, Industry of the Ordinary, Chicago, Illinois
2012 Private Training and Collaboration, Joliet Police Department, Joliet, Illinois, (TPAN project)
2011 Private Training, Joliet Police Department, Joliet, Illinois