Project Space Resident

Preston Gannaway

March 17 – April 14, 2026

Artist Statement

I’m a photographer, working in the documentary tradition, who focuses on long-form projects examining the relationships between individual, community and landscape. My work is invariably place-based. I’m interested in probing how landscapes and individuals influence each other.

My projects are often narrative and with geography and history becoming central characters. My practice requires me to deepen my personal connection with both people and places I photograph. That connection for me is crucial.

Although my work to date addresses a variety of subject matters, all my photographs are made through a queer and feminist lens. During my time at VSW, I will primarily be working on a new series about growing up gay in the 1990s, exploring my own disappearing queer history through personal archival material and contemporary landscape photographs.

Bio

Preston Gannaway is a documentary photographer and queer artist whose work centers around intimate narratives of American communities and landscapes. Her project Remember Me, was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. The series is in its 20th year and was published by GOST Books in 2023. Her first book, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, explored a seaside neighborhood in Virginia. Her work is held in collections including the High Museum of Art, Chrysler Museum of Art and Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Born and raised in North Carolina, she is based in Northern California.

VSW Project Space Residencies are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the New York State Legislature, Monroe County, and Joy of Giving Something. Photography-based artists participating in the program receive support from the Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation.