Jennifer Sakai

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Jennifer Sakai is a fine art photographer [1] [2] [3] , MFA professor at American University, [4] [5] and independent curator. [6]

Contents

Photography

In 2025, her project "When We Return Home" detailed her Japanese family's incarceration in Poston War Relocation Center during World War II and their post-war life, along with her own photography.The work was featured in Le Monde's M Magazine with an interview by Claire Guillot. [7] [8] [9] Her work has also appeared in W [10] and Vogue [11] .

Sakai’s work has been exhibited at: Addison/Ripley Fine Art (2025), Artsy [12] (2023), Glen Echo Park (Maryland) (2022), Corcoran Gallery of Art (2017), and Photo London at Somerset House in May 2023. [13]

In 2024, Sakai received the Prix Virginia, the Biennial International Prize for Photography for women, for When We Return Home. [14] [15] She also received an Aperture Foundation Creator Lab Prize for her photography practice. [16] [17]

She was a selected artist for the Charcoal Chico review in 2020 and 2021 [18] and won an award at the 2023 LensCulture Art Photography Awards. [19]

Sakai has received grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities for her photographic practice. [20] [20] [21] [22]

Curation

An independent museum curator, she curated The Gifts of Tony Podesta (2019) [23] , Border Wall (2020) [24] , and Vertiginous Matter (2022) at American University's Katzen Arts Center. [25] [26] The latter was called one of the year's top eight local photography exhibits by Washington City Paper . [27]

References

  1. "The life of dreams and nightmares Arizona's Japanese Americans lived during the Second World War". 2025-02-08. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  2. Jacobson, Louis (2022-03-31). "Jennifer Sakai and Philip Taplin Capture American Landscapes". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  3. Jacobson, Louis (2025-05-28). "The Color of Monochrome: Three Gallery Exhibits Consider Color". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  4. "Profile Jennifer Sakai". American University, Washington, DC. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  5. "Adjunct Professorial Lecturer". American University. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  6. "Artists bring light out of the darkness". The Washington Post .
  7. "The life of dreams and nightmares Arizona's Japanese Americans lived during the Second World War". 2025-02-08. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  8. "The life of dreams and nightmares Arizona's Japanese Americans lived during the Second World War". 2025-02-08. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  9. "POSTON INTERNMENT CAMP". Poston Preservation. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  10. "13 Artists Share the Stories Behind Their Creator Labs Photographs". W Magazine. 2024-11-05. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  11. Biasio, Caterina De (2024-09-24). "The 30 winners of the 2024 Creator Labs Photo Fund". Vogue. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  12. "Jennifer Sakai - Biography, Shows, Articles & More". Artsy. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  13. "photo london winners".
  14. Prix Virginia (Prix Virginia) (2024-11-04). Prix Virginia 2024 Edition live ceremony . Retrieved 2024-11-07 via YouTube.
  15. "Prix Virginia – Prix international décerné à une femme photographe" . Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  16. "Announcing the Winners of the 2024 Creator Labs Photo Fund". Aperture. 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  17. "Creator Labs Photo Fund Announces Season Three Winners". Aperture. Retrieved 2025-06-01.
  18. "2020". Chico Review. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  19. "lensculture winners".
  20. 1 2 "FY 2024 Grantees - Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program (AHFP) | dcarts". dcarts.dc.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  21. "FY22 Grantees - Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program (AHFP) | dcarts". dcarts.dc.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  22. "FY21 Grantees - Arts and Humanities Fellowship Program (AHFP) | dcarts". dcarts.dc.gov. Retrieved 2025-06-17.
  23. "The Gifts of Tony Podesta". American University. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  24. "Allan Gerson: Border Wall Exhibit". American University. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  25. Jacobson, Louis (2020-10-19). "City Lights: Border Wall Is Timely and Affecting". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  26. "Vertiginous Matter: Jason Horowitz". American University. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  27. Jacobson, Louis (2022-12-20). "2022 Was a Standout Year for Local Photography". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2024-08-20.