Description

The Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona (CCP), the premier research collection of American photographic art and archives, promotes inquiry and appreciation of photography’s cultural influence. Since opening in 1975, CCP has collected 110,000 works by 2,200 photographers, and 270 individual archives that include eight million photo-related objects and documents. 
CCP requests funding for a traveling, collection-based exhibition and publication of the work of Louis Carlos Bernal (1941–1993), considered the father of Chicanx photography. CCP established a substantial collection of Bernal’s prints by the late 1990s and significantly expanded it in 2014. CCP seeks to introduce Bernal to local, regional, and national audiences, and do so in dialogue with UA and Tucson’s Mexican American community. UA is one of four R1 American Association of University schools with a Hispanic Serving Institution designation. CCP considers Bernal’s work more relevant than ever to a deeper understanding of Latinx culture in Arizona and the U.S.
Bernal received his MFA from ASU and joined the faculty of Pima Community College in Tucson, where he developed and headed its photography program. A 1979 commission from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund to photograph Southwestern Chicanx culture for an exhibition and a book (ESPEJO: Reflections of the Mexican American) brought Bernal closer to his ethnic roots and fueled a passionate direction for his work. He wrote, “My images speak of the religious and family ties I have experienced as a Chicano. I have concerned myself with the mysticism of the Southwest and the strength of the spiritual and cultural values of the barrio.” Bernal focused on family and home, and made portraits of Latinx people from Texas to Los Angeles. 
The exhibition will be guest-curated by Elizabeth Ferrer, author of the 2021 publication “Latinx Photography in the United States: A Visual History.” The organizational work will center a community advisory group composed of UA faculty, staff, and students, and Southern Arizona community members. Together they will develop an engagement plan aimed at involving Tucson’s Chicanx community in activities potentially including the production of oral histories, a vernacular archive, or cultural festival. CCP’s galleries are accessible and free of charge. All exhibition content and the audio guide will be presented in both English and Spanish. The expansive accompanying publication, co-edited by Ferrer and CCP Chief Curator, Rebecca Senf, will be bilingual.