rose cunningham
[desire lines]
strip/tease
score for a voyeur
trompe l’oeil
playboy spreads
wet dreams, mulling over
home state
artist books
about
CV
Education
2028 (pending) Master of Fine Arts, Photography, University of Arkansas Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, Fayetteville, AR (expected May 2028)
2023 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography and Visual Critical Studies, Scholars Program Distinction, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2018 Rising Star Program Certificate, Photography, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
Selected Awards & Grants
2026 Sturgis International Fellowship, University of Arkansas Graduate School, Fayetteville AR
2026 MFA Graduate Research Support Grant, University of Arkansas School of Art, Fayetteville, AR
2026 Graduate Conference Travel Fund, University of Arkansas School of Art, Fayetteville, AR
2026 MFA Graduate Summer Opportunity Grant, University of Arkansas School of Art, Fayetteville, AR
2025 MFA Graduate Research Support Grant, University of Arkansas School of Art, Fayetteville, AR
2025 Art History Support Grant, University of Arkansas School of Art, Fayetteville, AR
2025 School of Art Scholarship, Walton Family Charitable Foundation, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
2024 Hyde Park Art Center Bridge Program Award Curated by Yoonshin Park, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
2023 Graduate Photography Mentoring Scheme 2023, Redeye, United Kingdom
2023 Notable Entry Finalist, Women in Art Award, Online Exhibition
2023 John Quincy Adams Travel Fellowship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2022 19th Julia Margaret Cameron Award Honorable Mention, Non-Professional Alternative Process Series, FotoNostrum, Barcelona, Spain
2021 SAIC Dean’s List Recipient, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2019 Koch Cultural Trust Grant Recipient, Wichita, KS
2019 SAIC Presidential Scholarship Merit Portfolio, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2019 Wichita Collegiate Humanities Award, Wichita Collegiate School, Wichita, KS
2019 World Languages Award, Wichita Collegiate School, Wichita, KS
2019 Wichita Business Journal Young Achiever Award, Wichita, KS
2017 Black and White Honorable Mention, The Photographer’s Forum
2017 Editor’s Pick, Sony World Youth Photography Competition, World Photography Organization, London, U.K.
2016 US Congressional Art Award First Place, United States Congress, Washington D.C.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026 Bits and Bobs, Prairie Street Taproom, Fayetteville, AR
2026 The Gathering, School of Art, University of Arkansas, Studio + Design Center, Fayetteville, AR, in conjunction with Crystal Bridges Tour
2026 F-Stop!, Midnight Gallery, Bentonville, AR
2025 Ephemeral, Woody Gaddis Gallery, University of Central Oklahoma Department of Mass Communication, Edmond, OK
2025 PLEASURE OR ELSE!, Prairie Street Taproom, Fayetteville, AR
2025 In Dreams I Walk With You, California Clipper, Cherry Knot Collective, Chicago, IL
2025 this is not an exhibition., Bridge Program Showcase, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL, Curated by Yoonshin Park
2024 Devotion: A Queer Photography Exhibition, LATITUDE, Chicago, IL, Curated by Taylor Roberts and Grace Coudal
2024 Arson Is a Woman’s Work, Cherry Knot Collective, Chicago, IL
2023 EMERGE 2023, Midwest Center for Photography, Wichita, KS
2023 we like small things v.6, Filter Space, Chicago, IL, Curated by Anna Goldwater Alexander
2023 SAIC BFA Spring Undergraduate Exhibition, SAIC, Chicago, IL
2022 Unmoored, MANA Contemporary, SAIC Department of Photography Senior Capstone, Chicago, IL, Co-curated with Photography Senior Capstone
2022 Over Street, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL, Curated by Tallulah Rose Cartalucca
2022 International Open Call Exhibition, Glasgow Gallery of Photography, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
2020 RA Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, U.K.
2020 MONOCHROME 3, Glasgow Gallery of Photography, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
2020 SAIC Art Bash, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2020 BLACK & WHITE, Black Box Gallery, Portland, OR
2019 Human Representation International Exhibition, Midwest Center for Photography, Wichita, KS
2019 International Exhibition 162 Shortlist, The Royal Photographic Society, London, U.K.
2019 2017 US Congressional Art Awards, United States Congress, Washington D.C.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2019 Femme et Fleur, Ferguson Lighting Gallery, Wichita, KS
2017 United States Congressional Art Award: Rose Cunningham, City Arts, Wichita, KS
Residencies
2026 Artist in Residence, Photography, Can Silvestre, Riudarenes, Girona, Spain
Publications & Bibliography
2026 “Issue 01: Un/Natural” Veilance Press, July 2026
2025 “The Surreal Issue” Black Flowers Journal, October 2025, https://www.blackflowers.online/issues/photography-by-rose-cunningham
2025 “Issue Nr. 36” Suboart Magazine, February 2025 https://suboartmagazine.com/2025/02/24/suboart-magazine-nr-36/
Creative Writing Publications & Readings
2025 Featured Poet, In Praise of Eros February Special, Written on a Napkin, Oromo Cafe, Chicago, IL
2024 Heart Gallery Poet: November 2024, Schoolhouse Collective, Chicago, IL
Selected Lectures & Discussions
2027 Artist Talk, “The Chasm of the Reach: Photographic Strategies in Queering Desire”, Community in Contrast, Society for Photographic Education National Conference, Minneapolis, MN
2026 Artist Talk, “The Chasm of the Reach: Photographic Strategies in Queering Desire”, Visual Currents, Society for Photographic Education South Central Regional Conference, Little Rock, AR
2025 Panelist, In Praise of Eros Poet Roundtable, Written on a Napkin, Oromo Cafe, Chicago, IL
2025 Panelist, Glimpsing the Unseen: Bridge Program Artist Roundtable, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
Curatorial Projects
2025 Deflate, University of Arkansas School of Art, Department of Photography Cohort, Fayetteville, AR
2022 Unmoored, MANA Contemporary, SAIC Department of Photography Senior Capstone, Chicago, IL
Relevant Work Experience
2026-Present President of the UA Photographic Society RSO, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
2026-Present, Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
2025-Present, Photography Lab Monitor, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas
2020 Gallery and Exhibitions Summer Intern, Mark Arts, Wichita, Kansas