For over 50 years, Light Work, a non-profit organization based at 316 Waverly Ave on the Syracuse University campus, has enabled photographers to create work by awarding annual grants. Those grants were once awarded only to artists from Central New York, but this year the program expanded to allow artists from 57 counties across New York State (but not New York City) to apply. And so, the 2026 award winners include two photographers from Monroe County, two from Onondaga County, and one from Columbia County.
A group exhibit, in Light Work’s Katherine O. Ellis Gallery, showcases the quintet’s works and offers a window into a range of contemporary photography. Indeed, viewers will encounter a portfolio of artworks moving from documentary images to deeply personal work.
On Friday, August 7, the five artists will be celebrated at a reception running from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.—an event that is free and open to the public.
The exhibition displays six color photos from Maureen Beitler’s documentary project, “From the Bone.” Beitler, based in Columbia county, photographed a family living off the grid: a single mother and her daughters who work intently on their farm.
In one image, devoted to the annual shearing of goats, a teenager holds a goat, and her sister, tool in hand, is ready to shear. In another image, a child chases a pig. A third photo depicts a teenager holding a goat with one hand and a young child with the other.
That image, as well as a photograph showing three people enjoying a picnic in the grass, demonstrates Beitler’s interest in portraying not only farm-related chores but also the family’s alternative lifestyle. They are in a league of their own, radically different from teenagers who spend hours on their phones or at the mall. “From the Bone,” Beitler’s full-length exhibition, appeared at the Woodstock Center for Photography, in Woodstock, New York.
A second artist, Amrita Stützle, who lives in Onondaga County, explores issues related to gender, ritual, labor and the environment. Her three images in the Light Work show portray women engaged in skillful, blue-collar jobs. One photo captures Lily, a worker, inspecting some sheet metal, while a second image incorporates photographs of three wielders and text from Tradeswoman, a publication focused on women in the skilled trades.
Stützle has previously exhibited at the Warehouse Gallery in downtown Syracuse, the Holland Project Gallery in Reno, Nevada and the Beverly Gallery, located in Beverly, a town in the United Kingdom.
And Hernease Davis, from Monroe County, has several pieces from her “Break with Me, Foundation” series on display. She employs a camera-less printing process, using techniques such as photograms and cyanotypes. Photograms are produced by placing objects on a light-sensitive surface. In a cyanotype, ultraviolet light helps create a Prussian-blue image.
Davis’ works in the exhibition seem almost painterly. “Break with Me Foundation #1” merges shapes, forms and what looks like the outline of a person in prayer. Another work from the series features a human form next to pups eager to be fed. Davis, a multi-disciplinary artist, has indicated that she sees her works as a physical expression of her deep interest in self-healing and empathy.
She has taken part in exhibits at venues such as the Houston Center for photography and Tiger Strikes Asteroid in Brooklyn. Her solo show, “Recapitulation,” appeared at the Silver Eye Gallery of Photography in Pittsburgh.
The fourth exhibitor, Ian Sherlock Molloy, lives in Syracuse and describes himself as an artist, educator and technician. He says his works reflect relationships with the people he knows and the land he inhabits. His pieces explore intimacy, reality, and sentimentality and are created via digital and sonic processes.
His artworks in the current show are varied; they reference an object on a bench, a turbulent stretch of water, a landscape and the exterior of a tent.
An artist living in Monroe County, Patty Tomanovich, creates his works with digital and alternative techniques. He delves into ecology, masculinity, religion and LGBTQ+ representation. Tomanovich says he strives for low-toxic print processing. He uses recycled materials whenever possible and doesn’t use precious metals such as silver.
The August 7th reception, which concludes at 6:30 p.m., will be followed by a screening of Zelikha Zohra Shoja’s film, “In Search of Bluer Tongues” and an artist’s talk. In her work, she focuses on migration and diasporic experiences.
The 2026 Light Work Grants in Photography exhibit wraps up on August 7. It can be viewed during gallery hours of 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information, call 315-443-1300 or access lightwork.org.
About the Author
Carl Mellor covered visual arts for the Syracuse New Times from 1994 through 2016. He writes reviews and artist profiles for CNY Arts as a community partner.
