Shawn Theodore
(b. 1970, Stuttgart)
Email: hi at shawntheodo.re
Currently based in Philadelphia.
Education
2000
Temple University, BA in Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising
Awards
2018
Getty Images ARRAY Grant, Recipient
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Fellowship, Nominee
Magnum Foundation Fund: Nominee
2016
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Fellowship: Nominee
Residencies
2017-18
SPACES - Artist in Residence
Village of Arts and Humanities Project: "Home Court"
solo exhibitions
2018
‘One Leaf Does Not a Cypress Make’ | Hudson Valley Community College, The Teaching Gallery | Curator, Tara Fracalossi
2017
'Church of Broken Pieces' | Richard Beavers Gallery, NYC | Curator, Richard Beavers
'Future Antebellum' | Art Sanctuary, Philadelphia, PA | Curators, James Claiborne and Noah Smalls
'Ctrl+P' | Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago
'Church of Broken Pieces' | African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA | Curator, Brittany Webb
2016
‘Shawn Theodore, xST' | Breakfast, Santa Barbara, CA
2015
‘The Avenues’, Painted Bride Art Center | Philadelphia, PA
2014
‘Storyville Presents: The A / V / E : The Audio Visual Experiment’ | Scribe Video Center
‘The Avenues, Uptown & GTown’ | Imperfect Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
murals / outdoor
2017
‘Aizen’ mural at 990 Spring Garden, in conjunction with the Mural Arts Program, Philadelphia, PA

"A Reminder" (2017) Shawn Theodore in Elfreth's Alley. Part of "Revolutionary: A Pop-Up Street Art Exhibition"
group exhibitions
2018
“Shifting Gaze: A Reconstruction of The Black & Hispanic Body in Contemporary Art” | Mennello Museum of American Art, Orlando, FL
"Between Now & Then; Life in the Bardos", Noorwood Club, NYC
“Refraction: New Photography of Africa and Its Diaspora”, Steven Kasher Gallery, Chelsea, NYC | Curators, Cassandra Johnson and Niama Sandy
Legacy of the Cool: A Tribute to Barkley L. Hendricks | The Bakalar & Paine Galleries at MassArt, Boston, MA | Curator, Darci Hanna
Shabazz / Theodore: The Photography of Jamel Shabazz and Shawn Theodore | SNAP! Space, Orlando, FL | Curators, Patrick and Holly Khan
2017
PRIZM Art Fair | Art Basel week, Miami, FL
'InVision Photo Festival' | Bethlehem, PA
'We Are Stronger Together' | Rush Arts Philadelphia, in partnership with The Barnes Foundation and Art Sanctuary | Curator, Oshun D. Layne
Shawn Theodore, works from 'Future Antebellum' at 'We Are Stronger Together' | Rush Arts Philadelphia
‘Other Articulations of the Real’ | The Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, NY
2016
PRIZM Art Fair | Art Basel week, Miami, FL
'OFF WHITE’ | MoCADA Museum, Brooklyn NYC | Curator, Akintola Hanif
2015
'PPAC 6th Annual Contemporary Photography Competition & Exhibition' | Philadelphia, PA
performance
Sanford Biggers and ensemble
2017
Participant/Actor in 'Duchamp in the Congo (Suburban Invasion)' 1999/2017 | Sanford Biggers, Xaviera Simmons and Michael Stablein | The Barnes Foundation ‘Person of the Crowd: The Contemporary Art of Flânerie’.
curatorial
2018
Let’s Connect: Philly’s Artists Take on the Barnes
Lyric - Creative Suites for the Modern Traveler
Philadelphia
Minnesota
Dallas
2017
‘Fevered Dreams, Fractured Times’, Mark Jason Weston at Imperfect Gallery
artist talks, panels and lectures
2018
REFRACTION: NEW PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA at AIPAD
Niama Safia Sandy, Curator, and Artists Nona Faustine, Adama Delphine Fawundu, and Shawn Theodore
A discussion of the upcoming exhibition Refraction: New Photography of Africa and its Diaspora on view at Steven Kasher Gallery from April 19 through June 2, 2018, which looks at reframing blackness through visual art and challenging existing representations of black life.
PhotoNative 2018, Provo, UT | Street Portraiture: Best Practices & Methods
Creative Photography Mentor | Village Arts | Philadelphia
2017
Art Sanctuary, closing reception artist talk with host/moderator Sharon Chestnut | Philadelphia, PA
Art Sanctuary, artist talk with PaFA Low-Res students | Philadelphia, PA
National Constitution Center 'Revolutionary: Artist Panel’ A conversation with four of the Revolutionary artists – Shawn Theodore, Michelle Angela Ortiz, Lisa Kelley, and Yasmine Mustafa | Philadelphia, PA,
African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA' Films at AAMP: ‘A Moving Image’ Screening & Artists’ Talk. Activist, scholar and artist Nehad Khader will moderate a discussion and audience Q&A between director Shola Amoo and photographer, Shawn Theodore.
African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA' Films at AAMP: ‘Black Girl + Merkato' A conversation between filmmaker Sosena Solomon and photographer Shawn Theodore.

Shawn Theodore in discussion with Oh, Snap! PPAC
Philadelphia Weekly: Picture power: Photography and women’s empowerment collide with Oh, Snap! at the PPAC
2016
First Person Arts Festival, National Museum of American Jewish History - Panelist, ‘My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me' | Philadelphia, PA
First Person Arts Festival, WHYY Studios, Philadelphia, PA Panelist ’A Letter to My Father / A Letter to My Son' City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services and First Person Arts | Philadelphia, PA
Shawn Theodore with Dr. Brandi Summers, VCU | Richmond, VA
Virginia Commonwealth University - Guest Lecturer ‘The Black Artist In Perspective’ (Secondary Link) To hear the interview with with African American Studies instructor Chioke I’Anson, PhD, please visit this link. | Richmond, VA
Temple University, Aperture Agency - Guest Lecturer | Philadelphia, PA
commercial
2017
Apple, Instagram Launch Campaign: Instyle (main image), Yahoo Finance (main image), TIME.
2016
Apple, QWERTY Campaign. Officially premiered during ‘Apple Special Event, October 2016’, please forward to 1:19:49 in video.
Featured Articles
2017
OkayAfrica: This Photo Series Is a Portal to New Dimensions of Black Life
Blavity: 'Philadelphia Artist Shawn Theodore Conveys The Essence Of Black Excellence In His Latest Exhibit'
6ABC: '6ABC Loves the arts: AAMP 40th anniversary celebration'
CBS3: African-American Museum Of Philadelphia Celebrates 40 Years
Fox29 Local Good Day: photog’s 1st museum show after inspiring Moonlight’s cinematographer
Blavity: '10 Dope Photographers That Should Be In Your Instagram Feed'
VSCO: 'Frame of Reference, Shawn Theodore'
CBSPhilly: 'Philly Street Artist Gets Exhibit At African American Museum'
6ABC Visions 2017: Celebrating Black History Month'
NBC10: 'NBC10 Celebrates Black History Month'
Philly.com: 'Philly's Instagram-famous street photographer gets his first museum show'
Philly.com: '8 ways to celebrate Black History Month in Philadelphia'
PhillyVoice: 'Local street photographer's work to be displayed in African American Museum'
2018
Musée Magazine: A Photographic Re-imaging of Black Past and Black Future with Shawn Theodore
NYTimes: Black With (Some) White Privilege
PDN 'Photo of the Day' 2/8 ”Dubhe” from Future Antebellum series. 2017 © Shawn Theodore
PDN 'Photo of the Day' 2/8 On the Streets with Jamel Shabazz and Shawn Theodore
2016
Huffington Post: "Dreamlike Photos Capture The ‘Vanishing Landscape’ Of Black Life In America"
Culture Type: 'The 24 Best Art Magazine Covers of 2016'
ThandieKay: ‘In conversation with photographer Shawn Theodore’
2015
Instagram.com global feature Secondary link, here.
This Week In Photo: The Candid Frame Podcast, 'xST Shawn Theodore' (#293)
New Republic: 'Instagram Takeover'
New Republic: ‘Bearing Witness to Harlem's Gentrification’
Ebony.com (Ebony Magazine) ‘xST Captures Vanishing Black Neighborhoods’,
2014
CNN.com, 'Fine art from an iPhone? The best Instagram photos from 2014'
New York Times, 'Buying the Bricks for Your Online Storefront'
Gryyo.com, 'Everyone is Flawed and Beautiful'
Mic.com, 'Meet the Photographer Capturing America's Vibrant Black Neighborhoods as They Disappear'
Complex.com, 'Shawn Theodore's Photography Illustrates the Changing Landscape of Black Neighborhoods'
I-D (UK) / Vice (US) 'Shawn Theodore's street shots shine a light on America’s black neighbourhoods'
Philly.com, 'Philly street photographer XST highlighted in beautiful video series'
Video documentary by Morgan Maassen
@Newyorkermag 'Instagram feature'
New Yorker Photo 'Instagram Takeover' @newyorkerphoto
bibliography
PDN Cover Feb 2018
2018
PDN (Photo District News), The Social Media Issue, February 2018. Cover, and the article on photographers photo editors have found through Instagram.

Smithsonian Magazine Covers, September 2016. (Left to Right) Lorna Simpson, Shawn Theodore, Delphine Diallo, Amy Sherald.
New Republic, 'Backstory' 2015
Hycide Magazine, 2016
reviews
2018
Celebrating Barkley L. Hendricks at MassArt, My photo "Being Black Outweighs One's Blues" is the main image on the page.
Celebrating Barkley L. Hendricks at MassArt, My photo "Being Black Outweighs One's Blues" is the main image on the page
MassArt's Barkley L. Hendricks Tribute 'Legacy Of The Cool' Is Too Hot To Overlook
Intersection: Photographer Shawn Theodore
Street Views, Orlando Magazine
2017
The Review Panel Philadelphia, An Evening of Critical Debate. Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Philadelphia, PA. David Cohen discusses this edition of the Review Panel, here on InLiquid.
ArtBlog: Self-made saints – Dawoud Bey and Shawn Theodore at the AAMP
Philadelphia Tribune: 'Black resilience focus of AAMP photo exhibits'