PICTORIAL FOUNDATION

ANN ROSEN

Asbury Park NJ UNITED STATES

Ann Rosen is a New Jersey–based artist known for her social justice projects that use portrait photography as a tool for empowerment. Rosen earned a BFA from SUNY Buffalo and an MFA from the Visual Studies Workshop, where she studied with Joan Lyons. Her work is influenced by both B&W and color portraiture, drawing from artists such as Paul Strand, Catherine Opie, Amy Sherald and Duane Michals.

She received grants from Brooklyn Arts Council and Puffin Foundation and has participated in residencies at Visual Studies Workshop; Mauser Foundation in Costa Rica; 360 Xochi Quetzal in Mexico; Virginia Center for the Creative Arts; and Henry Street Settlement. Rosen’s work has been in solo exhibitions at Soho Photo Gallery (NYC), Cepa Gallery (Buffalo, NY), Five Myles Gallery (NYC), Franklin Furnace (NYC), the New York Public Library, Grand Army Plaza, and Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ). Her work has appeared in group exhibitions at the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center. It has been featured in the NY Times and the Buffalo Evening News.

Her earlier projects, In the Presence of Family and its follow-up, document families over time, exploring themes of identity, adoption, and intermarriage. These projects are housed in the Brooklyn History Collection; books in the library collections of the Brooklyn Museum of Art and ICP, NY. Her photographs are held in major collections including the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Modern Art Library, and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center.

For each workshop, I create a portable studio with professional lights and backdrops, transforming the space into a place of creative agency. Within this space, participants determine how they want to be seen — choosing poses, props, and settings that affirm their identities and aspirations. They learn to take and print their own images to incorporate into visual journals and collages. They explore writing autobiographical poems and narratives through accessible prompts such as, “What is something important you want to say about your life?” or “How can you write a one-line autobiography?” These moments often spark powerful self-recognition. As one participant told me, “Learning photography and new art techniques has helped me connect with myself and the world around me. It’s grounding.”

ARTWORKS

C, formerly incarcerated woman with her handwritten autobiography, Brooklyn NY (2025)

ANN ROSEN

archival pigment print
17H x 28W in (43 x 71 cm)
US $1000

“My Being Seen project amplifies voices of women overcoming homelessness, incarceration, and addiction through collaborative photography and writing workshops that promote personal growth. I transform these collaborations into images for exhibition.

The project emerged in 2015 from conversations during art, photography, and writing workshops I led with groups of women in Brooklyn shelters. Together, we chose to create photographic portraits with their paintings as backdrops and to document their personal narratives to complement the photographs.

This community-based approach led me to HousingPlus, a Brooklyn nonprofit supporting women, gender-diverse people, and their families as they navigate the consequences of incarceration, trauma, addiction, homelessness, and systemic poverty. I conducted similar workshops for these women who are a part of the HousingPlus community. The images embody a personal power they work to achieve on a daily basis.

A, Veteran with her handwritten autobiography, Brooklyn NY (2025)

ANN ROSEN

archival pigment print
17H x 26W in (43 x 66 cm)
US $1000

“My Being Seen project amplifies voices of women overcoming homelessness, incarceration, and addiction through collaborative photography and writing workshops that promote personal growth. I transform these collaborations into images for exhibition.

The project emerged in 2015 from conversations during art, photography, and writing workshops I led with groups of women in Brooklyn shelters. Together, we chose to create photographic portraits with their paintings as backdrops and to document their personal narratives to complement the photographs.

This community-based approach led me to HousingPlus, a Brooklyn nonprofit supporting women, gender-diverse people, and their families as they navigate the consequences of incarceration, trauma, addiction, homelessness, and systemic poverty. I conducted similar workshops for these women who are a part of the HousingPlus community. The images embody a personal power they work to achieve on a daily basis.

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ANN ROSEN

Asbury Park NJ UNITED STATES

ARTWORKS

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