Sarah Wilson - Blind Prom Opening - TONIGHT!

Foley Gallery is pleased to present Sarah Wilson "Blind Prom," andColby Katz "Beauty Pageants,"two concurrent exhibitions of documentary photography and formal portraiture.

For the students at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, prom night is a momentous occasion. Since the spring season of 2006, Sarah Wilson has offered her professional services as the prom photographer for TSBVI. She marks, "From the moment the girls began trying on their dresses in the dorm rooms, till the last dance at midnight, I was there taking pictures, fully immersed in a familiar teenage excitement and energy. For many of the kids this was the most formal event they had ever attended. It was Prom, and it was a big deal."

Sarah Wilson was introduced to the blind community in 2005 when she began working as a stills photographer and field producer on the PBS-funded film, The Eyes of Me, a documentary about four students attending the Texas School for the Blind in Austin, Texas. Springing from her immersion into this film's new company, Wilson's own series, "Blind Prom," focuses on an American right of passage, the high school prom. Throughout the night she captures candid moments of the prom attendees, while producing their formal portraits. These rich, full-color images express the joy and spirit of, the thrill and intensity for a group of marginalized teens participating in the universal experience of attending a formal prom.

Sarah Wilson received her degree in photography from New York University. She was awarded the 2008 PhotoNOLA Review Prize from The New Orleans Photo Alliance for "Blind Prom." Her personal projects have been published in Texas Monthly, and exhibited at galleries nationwide, including the White Box Gallery in New York City. Wilson currently lives in Austin, Texas.


The exhibitions will remain on view until July 31, 2009. Foley Gallery is open Tuesday - Saturday 11AM - 6PM. For more information or to request images, please contact the gallery at 212.244.9081 or via email at info@foleygallery.com. Beginning the week of July 1st, our hours will change to Tuesday - Friday 11AM - 6PM.

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