Dates: November 17 - December 15, 2026
Meetings: Tuesday, 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM CST (5 sessions)
Location: Online Zoom Classroom
Cost: $465 (HCP members can receive a 10% discount, Advanced Photography Practices students receive a 15% discount)
Instructor: Patricia Voulgaris
Skill Level: Intermediate
Explore the relationship between photography, performance, identity, and self-representation. Through lectures, critiques, readings, and creative assignments, students examine how the camera functions as both a witness and a stage, shaping the ways we construct and perform identity. Drawing on the histories of performance art, and contemporary image-making, the course investigates how artists use the body, gesture, costume, narrative, and collaboration to create photographs that blur the boundaries between documentation and fiction. Students will experiment with self-portraiture, staged imagery, and performative strategies while developing a personal body of work that critically reflects on the performative nature of everyday life.
Objectives:
Examine the relationship between photography and performance through historical and contemporary artistic practices
Develop performative strategies for image-making using the body, gesture, costume, space, and collaboration as creative tools
Create staged and self-directed photographic works that investigate identity, self-representation, and the construction of narrative
Analyze the work of artists working in performance, portraiture, and conceptual photography, articulating how performance functions within photographic practice.
Strengthen technical skills in camera operation, lighting, composition, and post-production to support conceptual intentions
Participate in critiques by presenting your work, discussing artistic decisions, and providing thoughtful, constructive feedback to peers
Prerequisites:
Working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and/or Adobe Lightroom Classic.
Course Prep:
Students should email the instructor a PDF with examples of their work including 10-15 images
Dates: November 17 - December 15, 2026
Meetings: Tuesday, 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM CST (5 sessions)
Location: Online Zoom Classroom
Cost: $465 (HCP members can receive a 10% discount, Advanced Photography Practices students receive a 15% discount)
Instructor: Patricia Voulgaris
Skill Level: Intermediate
Explore the relationship between photography, performance, identity, and self-representation. Through lectures, critiques, readings, and creative assignments, students examine how the camera functions as both a witness and a stage, shaping the ways we construct and perform identity. Drawing on the histories of performance art, and contemporary image-making, the course investigates how artists use the body, gesture, costume, narrative, and collaboration to create photographs that blur the boundaries between documentation and fiction. Students will experiment with self-portraiture, staged imagery, and performative strategies while developing a personal body of work that critically reflects on the performative nature of everyday life.
Objectives:
Examine the relationship between photography and performance through historical and contemporary artistic practices
Develop performative strategies for image-making using the body, gesture, costume, space, and collaboration as creative tools
Create staged and self-directed photographic works that investigate identity, self-representation, and the construction of narrative
Analyze the work of artists working in performance, portraiture, and conceptual photography, articulating how performance functions within photographic practice.
Strengthen technical skills in camera operation, lighting, composition, and post-production to support conceptual intentions
Participate in critiques by presenting your work, discussing artistic decisions, and providing thoughtful, constructive feedback to peers
Prerequisites:
Working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and/or Adobe Lightroom Classic.
Course Prep:
Students should email the instructor a PDF with examples of their work including 10-15 images
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