Tammy Mercure (1976) was named one of the “100 under 100: The New Superstars of Southern Art” by Oxford American magazine. She is one of the fifty photographers represented in the traveling exhibition “Southbound: Photographs of and About the New South” originating at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art in Charleston, SC. Her work has been exhibited at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, the William King Museum in Abingdon VA, and Tracy Morgan Gallery in Asheville. She has been featured on CNN Photos, VICE, Daily Mail, GQ, NPR Big Picture Show, and more. She was published in the Southern Cultures, Guardian UK (Big Picture),Oxford American and in the book “Place, Art, and Self” by Yi-Fu Tuan. She has an MFA from East Tennessee State University. She lives in Tulsa, OK.
My work concerns the rites and rituals of American life and the relationship one has to the land. I photograph where I live and explore the unique culture of the Southeast. I often work in book form starting with a popular monthly letterpresses zine series in 2012. I have continued to make books and designed Polo Silk’s “Pop That Thang” in 2017. I have spoken on photobooks in many panel discussions, taught a one-day book workshop for PhotoNOLA, and curated three unique book exhibitions at Antenna called the Blue Library.
EDUCATION
M.F.A. Photography, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 2009
B.A. Photography, Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL 1999
SOLO & TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2019 Sleeping by the Bayou. The Front, New Orleans, LA
2017 Antenna Part 2. Antenna Gallery. New Orleans, LA
2016 Immortals. Notre Dame Photography Gallery. South Bend, IN
2014 Elysian Fields: Courtney Asztalos & Tammy Mercure. J&J Gallery. Syracuse, NY
2014 Nowhere Cavaliers. Photographs by Tammy Mercure and Dawn Roe. William King Museum. Abingdon, VA
2009 Animal: Tammy Mercure & John Simmons. Tipton Gallery. Johnson City, TN
2009 Bears Vs. Gems. Calvin College Gallery/ Art Prize. Grand Rapids, MI
2009 Big Rock Candy Mountain. Reece Museum. Johnson City, TN
2009 Mountain Empire. Virginia Intermont College Photography Gallery. Bristol, VA
2004 Fictional Wonders / Real Hallucinations: Works by Dan Attoe and Tammy Mercure. Sioux City Art Center. Sioux City, IA
2003 Wonders: Photographs by Tammy Mercure. Chicago Cultural Center. Chicago, IL
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 Summer 2022 Show, The Curated Fridge.
2022 Eyes on Main Street 8th Edition. Wilson, NC
2021 And Now for Something New, Vol 3. LeMieux Galleries. New Orleans, LA
2021 Eyes on Main Street 7th Edition. Wilson, NC
2021 Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of the United States. MSU Broad Museum. East Lansing, MI
2021 Southbound: Photographs of and About the New South. Lake City Creative Alliance. Lake City, SC
2021 Southbound: Photographs of and About the New South. The Windgate Museum of Art. Conway, AR
2020 Southbound: Photographs of and About the New South. LSU Museum of Art. Baton Rouge, LA
2020 Southbound: Photographs of and About the New South.Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience/Meridian Museum of Art. Meridian, MS
2019 Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of Louisiana. The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum. Myrtle Beach, SC
2019 Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of Louisiana. Ford Foundation. New York, NY
2021 (Postponed from 2020) Eyes on Main Street 6th Edition. Wilson, NC
2020 Southbound: Photographs of and About the New South. Hunter Museum of American Art. Chattanooga, TN
2019 Southbound: Photographs of and About the New South. Gregg Museum of Art & Design/ Power Plant Gallery. Raleigh/Durham, NC
2019 Encounter – after Czeslaw Milosz, Mom’s Gallery curated by Patrice Helmar, New York, NY
2019 Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of Louisiana. Diboll Gallery at Tulane School of Public Health. New Orleans, LA
2019 Per(Sister): Incarcerated Women of Louisiana. Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane. New Orleans, LA. Museum Exhibition of the Year by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities
2019 Summer 2019 Show. The Curated Fridge. https://www.thecuratedfridge.com
2018 Calamity Jane, The Front, New Orleans, LA
2018 Southbound: Photographs of and About the New South. Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. Charleston, SC
2018 Stephen’s Garage Collection. Kirschman ArtSpace at NOCCA. New Orleans, LA
2017 A Place and Space II. Ogden Museum of Southern Art. New Orleans, LA
2017 I’d Rather Go Blind. Zine released at Boston Art Book Fair. Oranberg Press. oranbegpress.com
2017 Representing Place: Photographs of Appalachia. Tracey Morgan Gallery. Asheville, NC
2017 Southern Routes. Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. Virginia Beach, VA
2016 Common Sense(s). Center for Photography. Woodstock, NY
2016 Common Sense(s). Visual Studies Workshop. Rochester, NY
2016 Louisiana Photography Biennial. New Orleans Art Center. New Orleans, LA
2016 Southern Icons A to Z. Slow Exposures. Zebulon, GA
2016 Under the Influence. Reece Museum. Johnson City, TN
2015 The Rising. Ogden Museum of Southern Art. New Orleans, LA
2014 9/50. Atlanta Contemporary Art Center. Atlanta, GA
2014 All Visual Triangle 5. Hillsborough, NC
2014 Country: Portraits of an American Sound. Slideshow. Annenberg Space for Photography. Los Angeles, CA
2014 IPL at the PPAC Book Fair. Philadelphia Photo Arts Center Book Fair. Philadelphia, PA
2014 Legacy and Labor. The Forum Art Space. Cleveland, OH.
2014 One Place or Another. Aviary Gallery. Boston, MA
2014 Oranbeg NET 09: Personal Space. Curated by Trevor Powers. oranbegpress.com
2014 Oranbeg NET 08 Contemporary Youth. Curated by Dean Davies. oranbegpress.com
2014 Oranbeg NET 03: The Chimera. oranbegpress.com
2014 Slideluck Austin VI. Rosewood Collective. Austin, TX
2014 Thesaurus. Dossier Outpost at Siopa Leabhar/Bookshop. Boston, MA
2014 You know what I’m seeing? by Carte Blanche. Muse Gallery. San Francisco, CA
2014 Variance. Leu Art Gallery. Nashville, TN
2013 All Visual Triangle. No 2. Durham, NC
2013 Good Light. Current Space. Baltimore, MD
2013 Hot Bed. TGIF Gallery. New York, NY
2013 Onward Compe. Project Basho. Philadelphia, PA
2013 Selections from the Indie Photobook Library. A Fair. University of Kansas. Lawrence, KS
2013 Unfolding Images. Contemporary Arts Center. New Orleans, LA
2012 All Visual Boston. Spectacle. Jamaica Plain, MA
2012 All Visual Triangle. The Pinhook. Durham, NC
2012 Captured by a Portrait: 20 Books from Indie Photobook Library. GuatePhoto. Guatemala City, Guatemala
2012 Handmade & Bound. Watkins College. Nashville, TN
2012 Issue #51: The Portrait. F-Stop Magazine. fstopmagazine.com
2012 Selections from the Indie Photobook Library. Flash Forward Festival. Boston, MA
2012 Selections from the Indie Photobook Library. Philadelphia Photo Arts Center. Philadelphia, PA
2012 Selections from the Indie Photobook Library. PhotoNOLA. New Orleans, LA
2011 Re-Imaging Appalachia. University of Kentucky. Lexington, KY
2011 Returning the Gaze. Northern Trust Bank. Chicago, IL
2010 Appalachian Photographers Project. Reece Museum. Johnson City, TN
2010 Faculty Show. Abingdon Arts Depot. Abingdon, VA
2010 Modern Image. International Orange Photo Festival. Changsha City, Hunan Province, China
2010 New Visionaires 2009. Tobacco Warehouse. New York Photo Festival. New York, NY
2010 Reunion: Invitational Exhibition of 100 Alumni. Slocumb Art Gallery. Johnson City, TN
2010 Slideluck Potshow Chicago IV. Chicago, IL
2010 Slideshow. Hatchfest. Asheville, NC
2009 Breaking Boundaries II. Pingyao, China
2009 Flora and Fauna. Newspace Center for Photography. Portland, OR
2009 Look at the Mess You Made. Reece Museum. Johnson City, TN
2009 Mockingbird. Brief Gallery. Nashville, TN
2009 Slideluck Potshow Charlottesville. Look3 Festival. Charlottesville, VA
2009 ZeroSum. Create Here Gallery. Chattanooga, TN
2008 Contemporary Southern Photographers. Atlanta Photography Group Gallery. Atlanta, GA
2008 Enfance: Purpose Projection 4. Paris, France
2008 Enfance/ Childhood. Issue 8. Purpose Magazine. www.purpose.fr
2008 Group Show No. 22. Humble Arts. www.humbleartsfoundation.org
2008 Is It Possible to Make a Photograph of New Jersey Regardless of Where You Are At in the World? Pierro Gallery. South Orange, NJ
2008 Marks. Reece Museum. Johnson City, TN
2008 Place or Space, St. Olaf Collage, Northfield, MN
2007 The Looking Glass. Silver Eye Center for Photography. Pittsburgh, PA
2007 Mockingbird. Tipton Place Gallery. Johnson City, TN
2007 New Works: SPA Group Show. Tipton Place Gallery. Johnson City, TN
2006 Group-Show.com Pinned Up, 3rd Ward. Brooklyn, NY
2006 Photography Midwest: A Seven State Juried Exhibition. Wisconsin Union Galleries. Madison, WI
2006 The Chicago Project: Selections from our Online Gallery. Catherine Edelman Gallery. Chicago, IL
2005 Crests, Laurels, and Proof, Moser Performing Arts Center Gallery. University of St Francis. Joliet, IL
2005 Servings. City Gallery at the Historic Water Tower. Chicago, IL
2004 Art to Fear II. Arc Gallery. Chicago, IL
2004 Fact / Fiction. Creative Arts Workshop. Juror: Dawoud Bey. New Haven, CT
2004 National Juried Artshow 2004. Farmington Museum. Farmington, NM
2004 Revealing the Obscure. Juror: Barbara Ess. www.PostPicasso.com
2003 Artists at the Bistro. The Bistro. Batavia, IL
2003 18th Annual Juried Art Exhibition. Lubeznik Center for the Arts. Michigan City, IN
2003 Dancin’ On Dearborn. Three Arts Club. Chicago, IL
2003 Four Walls. Glass Curtain Gallery. Chicago, IL
2001 Columbian Exposition Invitational Art Auction.(catalog). Glass Curtain Gallery. Chicago, IL
2001 A State of Art. Shotwell Gallery. Chicago, IL
2000 First Works. Columbia College Art Gallery. Chicago, IL
2000 Millennial Images. Bradley University. Peoria, IL
GRANTS & AWARDS
2024 Artists Creative Fund, CACHE, Tulsa, OK
2023 Publication Residency, Paper Machine, New Orleans, LA
2022 Tulsa Creates Together Site-Specific Artwork Grant, Living Arts of Tulsa
2021 LDOA Individual Artist Relief Grant, St Tammany Parish Government with St Bernard Parish
2015 Platforms Fund, (Press Street/Ashe/ Pelican Bomb grant)
2010 Award of Excellence. Modern Image. International Orange Photo Festival. Honorable Mention
2010 International Photography Award. Professional Portrait
2009 Graduate Research Grant. ETSU School of Graduate Studies
2009 Honorable Mention. Magenta Foundation Flash Forward Emerging Photographers
2009 Honorable Mention. New York Photo Festival. Student Fine Art Series
2008 Graduate Research Grant. ETSU School of Graduate Studies
2007 Community Arts Assistant Program (CAAP) Grant. Department of Cultural Affairs. Chicago, IL
2006 Honorable Mention. Time Out Chicago Photo Contest. Time Out Chicago magazine
2005 CAAP Grant, Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago, IL
2005 Partial Fellowship. Bard MFA Program
2004 Best in Show. Revealing the Obscure. www.PostPicasso.com
2004 Stuart and Iris Baum Project Completion Grant. Chicago, IL
2002 CAAP Grant. Department of Cultural Affairs. Chicago, IL
2002 Polaroid Artist Support Grant. Polaroid Corporation. Waltham, MA
2001 CAAP Grant. Department of Cultural Affairs. Chicago, IL
2001 Emerging Artists Residency. Women’s Studio Workshop. Rosendale, NY
COLLECTIONS
Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University
Columbia College Chicago Photography Department. Chicago, IL
Contemporary Arts Center. New Orleans, LA
Franklin Furnace Artists’ Books Collection
Museum of Contemporary Photography’s Midwest Photographer’s Project(2007-2009, 2002-2004). Chicago, IL
Newark Public Library. Newark, NJ
Ogden Museum of Southern Art. New Orleans, LA
Polaroid Corporation. Waltham, MA
Private Collections
Sioux City Art Center. Sioux City, IA
Telfair Museums. Savannah, GA
PUBLICATIONS
2021 Picturing the flag in the New South by Mark Long. Landscape Research, Volume 46.
2021 American Scholar. Photographs of Holt Cemetery. Winter 2021
2018 Southern Culture. Summer 2018
2017 Southern Cultures. Appalachia. Spring 2017
2016 Catahoula. Issue Three
2016 Could Be Worse. ADP Zine
2016 The Decadent Revelry of Cajun Mardi Gras. GQ Magazine
2016 Doin’ Work, Flash Interviews With Contemporary Photographers: Tammy Mercure. by Tara Way. Huffington Post
2016 Don’t Smile. Feature
2016 Free Lunch Volume 1. Free Lunch Cartel
2016 Oxford American. No.94.
2016 Southern Glossary. Volume 2
2015 American Chordata. Issue One. Spring 2015
2015 Live from the Treasure Chest Casino. Bitter Southerner
2015 New Orleans at the Crossroads of Past and Present. Carnegie Museum of Art blog by Matthew Newton
2014 Beta. Oranbeg Press
2014 Issue 65: Documentary. F-Stop Magazine
2014 Interleafs. Volume II. Oranbeg Press
2014 Oxford American. No. 84
2014 Papersafe. Volume 1
2014 Petty Thieves Four: Coast to Coast. Empty Stretch
2014 SoSo (with Ben Alper, Rose Marie Cromwell, and more). Oranbeg Press
2014 Studies in American Culture. October 2014
2013 “The American Guide reinvented: a new take on US Travel”. The Guardian UK. May 2013.
2013 Business Insider. July 29, 2013. by Megan Willett.
2013 Big Picture. Guardian UK
2013 CNN Photos. “Bristol Motor Speedway.”
2013 CZE Magazine. #14 Plants
2013 Darwin Magazine. Issue 2: The Americas
2013 Easter Trouble Vol. 1. Easter Trouble Press
2013 Fraction Magazine. Issue 54
2013 No Nay Never No More. Oranbeg Press
2013 Oxford American No. 83. Tennessee Music Issue
2013 Petty Thieves. Number Three. Empty Stretch
2013 Prima Persona Magazine. Sports
2013 Wall Papers. Arts & Sciences Projects
2012 O’Neill, Claire. “The 2012 Visual South, Part III: Tourist Towns”. NPR Picture Show. May 9, 201
2012 Oxford American No. 76. “100 under 100: The New Superstars of Southern Art.”
2012 Oxford American No. 77. Best of the South.
2012 South x Southeast. February 2012.
2012 Southern Appalachia. “Big Rock Candy Mountain from the Great Smoky Mountains.”
2012 Subjective Magazine. Issue #2: The Forgotten.
2009 Collector’s Guide to Emerging Art Photography. Humble Arts Foundation
2009 Flash Forward- Emerging Photographers 2009. Magenta Foundation
2009 New York Photo Awards 2009 Photo Annual Book
2009 Waterfall Magazine. What’s Your Function in Life Issue
2004 Tuan, Yi Fu. Place, Art, and Self. Iceland: Center for American Places
2004 Cook, Chris. Fictional Wonders/ Real Hallucinations. Exh. Cat., Sioux City Art Center 2001
2004 Shots: #76: Barriers and Passages. December
2000 Pinhole Journal Volume 16 #3. Dec
ARTIST BOOKS WITH EDITIONS OVER 20
2021 Piccola, with Theral Harris. Sun & Moon Press
2019 White Rabbits. 2022 Edition by Sun & Moon Press
2018 Saint. Antenna Press
2015 Morns are Meeker. TCB Press
2014 Mary. TCB Press. 2022 Edition by Sun & Moon Press
2013 Twelve Nashville Waffle Houses. TCB Press
2013 County Fair. ebook. TCB Press
2012 Book a Month. TCB Press
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2014- Current Freelance Photographer. New Orleans, LA & Tulsa, OK
2010-2013 Assistant Professor. King College. Bristol, TN
2009-2010 Assistant Professor. Virginia Intermont College. Bristol, VA
2009- 2011 Founder. Appalachian Photographers Project
2007- 2009 Graduate Assistant/ Instructor on Record. East Tennessee State University. Johnson City, TN
2007 Docent Coordinator. City Gallery of Photography. Chicago, IL
2003 – 2006 Adjunct Faculty. Columbia College Chicago. Chicago, IL
1999 – 2007 Digital Imaging Coordinator. Columbia College Chicago. Chicago, IL
VOLUNTEER
2023 Juror. Scholastics Art and Writing Awards for the Southern Region.
2015 Teen Zine Volunteer. Contemporary Arts Center. New Orleans, LA. Assisted teens making a yearly zine with art, music, lists, and articles.
2010-2013 Joy Prom Event Photographer. Johnson City, TN. Brought students to do formal portraits. Joy Prom is an all ages community event for people with disabilities to have a yearly prom. I photographed the red carpet arrivals and dance.
2011-2013 Help Portrait. Bristol, TN/VA. Was the faculty coordinator for our area Help Portrait. Each year we would do over 100 formal family portraits at the public library for families that may not have been able to afford a portrait otherwise.
LECTURES, ETC
2022 Panelist for Text + Image with Rob McDonald and Claudia Smigrod. Popular Culture Association in the South Conference. New Orleans, LA
2021 Guest Lecturer. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
2019 Guest Lecturer. Pratt University. New York, NY
2017 Hands On Photobook Workshop. PhotoNOLA. New Orleans, LA
2016 Guest Lecturer. Ringling College of Art and Design. Sarasota, FL
2016 Guest Lecturer. Southeastern Louisiana University. Hammond, LA
2016 Presenter. Marble Hill Camera & Supper Club. New York, NY
2015 Gallery Talk for The Rising at the Ogden
2015 Panel Member: In Print: Photobook Panel. Stacks at the Contemporary Art Center. New Orleans, LA
2015 Presenter. ADP Workshop at Ohio University. Athens, OH
2014 Guest Lecturer. Austin Peay University. Clarksville, TN
2014 Presenter. ADP Workshop at Ohio University. Athens, OH
2013 Guest Speaker. f32 Group. Asheville, NC
2013 Guest Speaker (spring and fall). Virginia Military Institute. Lexington, VA
2013 Panel Member. “Literally Speaking.” Contemporary Arts Center. New Orleans, LA
2013 Senior Portfolio Reviews. Virginia Commonwealth University Photography Department. Richmond, VA
2010 Panel Member. Women In Photography. Hatch Fest. Asheville, NC
CURATORIAL EXPERIENCE
2019 Janna Ireland: The Valley Below. Antenna Gallery, New Orleans, LA
2017 The Blue Library Vol 3: Photographs from the USA, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Sudan and Somalia (Travel Ban Countries). Antenna Reading Room. New Orleans, LA
2017 Polo Silk Presents Pop That Thang. (Designed and produced monograph for the exhibition). Antenna Gallery. New Orleans, LA
2017 Congregation. (Benefit for Alligator Clay). Antenna Gallery. New Orleans, LA
2016 The Blue Library Vol 2: Conversations. Antenna Reading Room. New Orleans, LA
2016 Golden: Photographs by Michelle Groskopf and Sasha Tivetsky. OCH Gallery. New Orleans, LA
2016 Taxi Dance: Colin Roberson. OCH Gallery. New Orleans, LA
2015 66<100. (Shop with women made goods to highlight gender wage gap) 1612 Oretha Castle Haley. New Orleans, LA
2014 The Blue Library. Antenna Reading Room. New Orleans, LA
2013 Oranbeg Press. “A New Romance.” PDF Exhibit
2010 Appalachian Photographers Project. Reece Museum. Johnson City, TN
2010 Fine Feathers. Photography Gallery at Virginia Intermont. Bristol, VA
2008 Thinking Big. Slucomb Gallery. Johnson City, TN
2006 Nature. InTransit Gallery. Chicago, IL
2005 The Lobby. South Loop SRO. Chicago, IL
2003 – 2007 Series Co-Coordinator. 6×6 Series Photography Books. Chicago, IL