I’ve always seen photography as an expressive medium that plays with the “real” but is not bound by it, which leads me to want to create images that people can get lost in, that capture the essence of a time or place in a way that speaks to the heart. After completing a BFA in Photography from Art Center College of Design, I worked as an award-winning advertising and editorial photographer for over a decade and then returned to school to complete a MFA in Art from Claremont Graduate University. While there, in addition to producing my own work, I also curated several large art projects and have continued that commitment to community through the organizing of photo-related events. After graduation I joined the Art Department at Long Beach City College; teaching for over two decades, hosting multiple visual media festivals, serving as Chair and as Digital Media Program Coordinator. In 2020 I transitioned into being an actively practicing full-time artist while continuing to teach through workshops, curation and individual tutoring.
My work has been featured in Black and White Photography UK, Float Magazine, Women's Art Quarterly, Lenscratch, Lenswork, Balcony Press and many other publications. My imagery has been exhibited nationally and internationally and has been part of exhibitions at the Center for Photographic Art, Seoul Museum of Art, CSU Long Beach Art Gallery to name just a few. I continue to mentor and pursue my photographic interests with my most recent series Chance Chronicles, a photomontage set of platinum palladium dreamscapes, with my photography showcase ThinkingAboutPhotography.com where I curate the work of other artists and with my Creatively Newsletter.
EDUCATION:
1997 Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA. M.F.A.
1984 Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA. B.F.A.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2023 Ann Mitchell: The Chance Chronicles, Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, CA
2020 Meditations: The Chance Chronicles, Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, CA
Novellas, (with Siobhan McClure), Roswell Space, Eagle Rock, CA
2019 The Chance Chronicles, (with Rhonda Lashley Lopez), Emerald Art Center, Springfield, OR
2016 The Chance Chronicles, Groundspace Project, Los Angeles, CA
2015 The Razor's Edge, Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, CA
2014 The Razor's Edge, Stone Rose Gallery, Long Beach, CA
2013 The Razor's Edge, Chez Shaw Gallery, Long Beach, CA
2012 Unmade & Winter's Light, LA Harbor College, Los Angeles, CA
Resonance, Kamikaze 2012, POST, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Ordinary Beauty, Cypress College Photography Gallery, Cypress, CA
2010 Family Stories, Phantom Galleries, Long Beach, CA
American Triptych, Cypress College Photography Gallery, Cypress, CA
2009 American Triptych, Gallery 478, San Pedro, CA
Ann Mitchell, Val Verde, LBPG, Long Beach, CA
2008 Val Verde (with Beth Dow, In the Garden) Photographic Center NW, Seattle WA
2007 A Sense of Place, Metro Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Ann Mitchell, Val Verde, Fine Art Gallery, Golden West College, CA
2004 Gardens & Graffiti, Avenue 9 Gallery, Chico, CA
2002 Spartus: Not Technicolor, J. O. Gallery, San Pedro, CA
1999 Ann Mitchell, recent work, Photography Gallery, Santa Monica College, CA
1997 Through a Glass, Peggy Phelps Gallery, Claremont Grad School, Claremont, CA
1997 Landscape Photography, Vromans Gallery, Pasadena, CA
1994 Ann Mitchell, A & I Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2022 12th Anniversary Exhibition, featuring Juror's Award winners, curated by Amanda Smith and Kevin J. Tully, A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX
Trees, Selected for Visitor's Award, Juror: Kevin J. Tully, A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX
Dreams and Imaginings, Juror: Susan Burnstine, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
Afterglow, Curator: Jonna Lee, Roswell Space, Eagle Rock, CA
New Again, a group exhibition, Another Year in LA
2021 Members Juried Exhibition, Awarded 3rd Place, Juror: Susan Burnstine, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
Viewpoint Photographic Art Center 30th Anniversary, Juror: Patty Feldner, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA
Dusk to Dawn, Don't Take Pictures
2020 domicile, Jurors: Amanda Smith and Kevin Tully, A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX
Reimagined Landscapes, Juror: Ann Jastrab, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
Project 2020, Honorable Mention, Juror: Douglas Marshall, Los Angeles Center of Photography, Los Angeles, CA
Photomontage: Constructed Realities, Juror: Tom Chambers, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
2019 International Juried Exhibition, Juror: Paula Tognarelli, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
Portal, Juror's Award, Juror: Ann Jastrab, A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX
Chasing the Ephemeral, Roswell Space, Eagle Rock, CA
4th Annual Alternative Process Exhibition, Jurors: Ann Jastrab, Christina Z. Anderson, Unai San Martin, The Image Flow, Mill Valley, CA
The Handmade Photograph, El Museo Cultural, Santa Fe, NM
The Curious Compendium, Bite Art Collective, Shoebox Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Foresome, 515 Bendix, Los Angeles, CA
Practice and Pedagogy, Long Beach Museum of Art Xchange, Long Beach, CA
2017 Secret Garden, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
It’s a Wonderful World, Juror: Betty Ann Brown, Groundspace Projects, Los Angeles
A Family Inspired, Liberty Arts Gallery, Yreka, CA
2016 Imagined Realities, Director's Award, Juror: Tom Chambers, Photo Place Gallery, MIddlebury, VT
Los Angeles: Detailed, Annenberg Beach House, Los Angeles, CA
POST Invitational Auction, , POST Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015 Spring/Idiom, Coastline Community College Art Gallery, Newport Beach, CA
Sarah Lee Projects, Photo LA, Los Angeles, CA
The Mandala Project, SCA Project Gallery, Pomona, CA
2014 Photography 2015, CSULong Beach Art Gallery, Long Beach, Ca
2013 Family, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
Photography 2013, Another Year in LA, Los Angeles, CA
Dream a Dream, PYO Gallery LA, Los Angeles, CA
Stories, Memories and Histories, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
Mysterious Visions: Dreams, Fantasies, Mirages, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT
Group 4.5, Groundspace Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2011 I Love LA, Duncan Miller Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
The Los Angeles Collection, International Pink Art Fair, Seoul, Korea
Summertime, Duncan Miller Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Pro'Jekt LA Part Two - Pacific Resonance, MOPLA, Los Angeles, CA
2010 Summer Mix, Creative Photography Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Family Stories, SlideLuck PotShow, Center for Photography, Woodstock, NY
2009 Divas: A Group, Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum, CSUSan Bernardino
Santa Monica Pier Project, Santa Monica, CA,
2008 Photographer's Eye Friends of Photography Series, LA Public Library, Los Angeles, CA
L.A.River Project, Bridge Gallery Los Angeles City Hall, Los Angeles, CA
Urban Landscapes, Topanga Art Gallery, Topanga, Ca
Amateur, BC Space Gallery, Laguna Beach
2007 Urban: Public + Personal, 3P Gallery, Long Beach, CA
American Triptych, Guest Artist, www.Filmwasters.com
2006 Everyday LA, Metro Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Gala Awards, Center for Photographic Arts, Carmel, CA
2004 National 2004 Photography Now, Juror: Marita Holdaway, Larson Gallery, YVCC, WA
Through a Lens: Urban Landscapes, Juror: Richard Newman, CAL Museum, Half Moon Bay, CA
In the Garden, Avenue Nine Gallery, Chico, CA
1999-12 Group Views, Long Beach City College, Long Beach , CA
1999-01 Next Wave I & II, Andrew Shire Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1998 Faculty Exhibition, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA
1997 3 Weeks in L.A., Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA
1996 The Scene, West Gallery, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA
New Photography, L. A. County, Pomona, CA
The House of Art, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA
Dillingham/Caples Gallery, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA
1995 West Gallery, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA
Faculty Exhibition, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA
1989 Women's Advertising Council, Los Angeles, CA
1988 The Belding Exhibit , Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, CA
1987 Best of the West, Art Directors Club of Los Angeles
1984 Main Gallery, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
1983 Main Gallery, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA
1982 Western Artists and Their Work, California State University, Chico, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
2023 The Female Gaze: "Girl Gaze #4, ReadFrames.com
On Ann Mitchell's "Chance Chronicle Animations nos. 3 and 6", Poignant Pics, 112
2022 Daily Inspiration, Meet Ann Mitchell, VoyageLA.com
2021 American Connection, Black and White Photography Magazine UK
2020 Reimagined Landscapes, Lenscratch.com
Project 2020 at LACP, Lenscratch.com
2019 Muse, Ann Mitchell, AnotherYearInLA.com, January/February
Ann Mitchell: Chance Chronicles, FloatMagazine.com
Ann Mitchell: Invisible Body of Reality, Don’t Take Pictures.com
2016 The Razor's Edge, Ann Mitchell, WomenArts Quarterly Journal, V6, Issues #2, #4
2014 The Razor's Edge, Ann Mitchell, Lensculture.com
2013 Jill Enfield's Guide To Photographic Alternative Processes, Focal Press
The Razor's Edge, Ann Mitchell, Lenscratch.com
2012 The Revisiting Project, Ann Mitchell, The Times Quotidian.com
2011 Ordinary Beauty, Ann Mitchell, New Landscape Photography.com
The Medium is the Message, Lenscratch.com
2010 Still Life Photography, Lenscratch.com
2009 Impermanence Blog, LensWork Newsletter, LensWork Publications
West Coast Photographers, Lenscratch.com
Austin Val Verde, The Photo Book, thephotobook.wordpress.com
2008 Austin Val Verde, Impressions of a Montecito Masterpiece, Hardcover Monograph, Balcony Press
American Triptychs, January/February, LensWork Extended Portfolios & Audio Interviews
Val Verde, January/February LensWork Magazine
Polaroid: Last, Best, Issue 11, Light Leaks Magazine
2007 American Triptychs, View Camera Magazine
2005 Documentation & Interpretation: Ann Mitchell, View Camera Magazine
2004 Boundaries and Interpretation, News & Review, Chico, CA
2004 Pick of the Week, Buzz, Enterprise Record, Chico, CA
2001 Photography Salon, EyeCarumba.com
Ann Mitchell, Canadian Photo Guide, Canada
1999 Art Pick, Fine Arts Calendar, News and Review Weekly, CA
1996 Pair of Aging Houses now Modern Art, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Ontario, CA
1996 House of Art, Orange County Weekly, CA
1996 A Picture Perfect House, Claremont Courier, CA
1988 Design: Los Angeles , Julie Prendiville.
1987 Best of the West. Art Directors Club of Los Angeles, CA
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES:
2024 Juror, interiors, A Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX
2023 - 2024 Writer, The River a monthly creativity journal
2021 - 2023 Curator, ThinkingAboutPhotography.com
2022 Lecturer, History of Notable Women Photographers, Lost Angeles Center for Photography, CA
Lecturer, Composite Imaging Part II: Themes and Practices, Los Angeles Center for Photography, CA
2021 Lecturer, Composite Imaging Webinar, Los Angeles Center for Photography, CA
2020 Lecturer, Composite Imaging Webinar, Los Angeles Center for Photography, CA
Guest Speaker, Visual Style as Narrative in Film, OLLI at CSUChico, CA
2017 Presenter, Chance Chronicles, Open Show Pasadena East LA, Pasadena, CA
2015-17 Organizer & Lecturer, Intersect Project, Long Beach City College, CA
2008-12 Organizer & Lecturer, PhotoFest @ LBCC, Long Beach City College, CA
2010 Reviewer, SPE Western Conference, San Diego, CA
2007 Contributor, PhotoVision Award Exhibition, The Photographic Center Northwest, Seattle, WA
Contributor, Cultural Landscape Foundation, San Francisco, CA
2004 Instructor, Polaroid Workshop, Avenue 9 Gallery, Chico, CA
2002, 2003, Organizer, Spring Arts Exhibit, Hellada Gallery, Long Beach, CA
1999 Curator, A Mixed View, Hellada Gallery, Long Beach, CA
1998 Curator, Element Silver, Gallery 1078, Chico, CA
1997 Contributor, The Show , Robert Miller Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1996 Curator, Search for Aesthetics, Humanities Center, Claremont CA
Curator, House of Art, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA
Curator, Work of Body, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA
TEACHING & ADVISORY EXPERIENCE:
1998 - 2020
Professor of Art, Photography and Digital Media Coordinator, Visual and Media Arts Department, Long Beach City College, CA
2004-2005, 2010-2012
Chair, Art & Photography Department, Long Beach City College, CA
2008 - Current
Advisory Board Member: Freestyle Photographic Supplies, Los Angeles, CA,
1989 - 1998
Adjunct Faculty & Lecturer: Art Center College of Design, Woodbury University, CSU Northridge, Claremont Graduate School, Santa Monica, Citrus, Santa Ana, Coastline and Antelope Valley Colleges.
COMMERCIAL EXPERIENCE:
1983 - 1995 Ann Mitchell Photography, Editorial and Advertising
Partial client list includes: Paramount and Universal Studios, Teleflora, Knudsen,
Contadina, Xerox, Apple Computers, Random House and Better Homes & Gardens Magazine.