We are thrilled to announce that Jess T. Dugan has been selected as a finalist for the Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture! Dugan is an artist whose work explores issues of identity, gender, sexuality, and community through photographic portraiture. She received her MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago, her Master of Liberal Arts in Museum Studies from Harvard University, and her BFA in Photography from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Dugan’s series Every breath we drew explores the power of identity, desire, and connection through portraits of herself and others. The her series To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults, resulting portraits and narratives offer a nuanced view into the struggles and joys of growing older as a transgender person and offer a poignant reflection on what it means to live authentically despite seemingly insurmountable odds.

The Arnold Newman Prize is awarded annually to a photographer whose work demonstrates a compelling new vision in the genre of portraiture. Dugan’s work will be in part of an upcoming exhibit at the Griffin Museum among other Arnold Newman Prize finalists. The show will be on view from October 1-20, 2019.