Melissa Ann Pinney

In Their Own Light: Photographs from Chicago Public Schools relates the story of Melissa Ann Pinney’s seven year artist residency in Chicago Public Schools. When Pinney began this work in 2018, she had no idea of what was to come. Here, we see how the project evolved and shifted as Pinney found opportunities to deepen connections with students through a global pandemic, escalating racial and gender inequities and continuing gun violence. Throughout, Pinney shows us an astonishing range of identities revealed amid friendships and school rituals.