65 Union Ave
Memphis, TN 38103
USA
On the evening of March 30, 2018 the Cotton Museum is proud to celebrate the opening of a new exhibition of photography by Ryan Steed. The exhibit will feature photographs from Steed’s ongoing and evolving body of work, Went Out for Cigarettes.
The grandson of a cotton farmer and the son of a literature teacher, Ryan Steed has spent the past several years exploring and rediscovering the American South. Encompassing areas of Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, Steed unearths contradictions and hidden meanings through both his images and titles. His perspective encourages viewers to seek the underlying narrative in the seemingly familiar.
A Memphis-based photographer and educator, Steed completed an MFA in Photography at Memphis College of Art and currently teaches darkroom and social documentary photography at his alma mater. He has recently exhibited work in Memphis, Little Rock, Atlanta, Portland, and Brooklyn, and his work has been published by Aint-Bad and Number:Inc. Steed’s interests range from analog photographic processes to digital media, and his first love is black and white documentary photography. He believes the greatest photos are made from the side of the road.