I CHOSE CURIOSITY OVER JUDGMENT

Sandra Bacchi is a Brazilian-American visual artist based in Pittsburgh, USA, working with photography, video, and glass. Her documentary and conceptual work weave together fiction and truths to tell more open-ended stories on how human beings find common ground. Bacchi sees the world and its people as a combination of layers. Each person brings different layers to their complex relationships. Ancestors, family history, and life experiences create the layers within each person. In that sense, Sandra believes that when we take the time to value others' differences, we are more open to exposing the differences in ourselves and living a more full and expressed life.

Earning a degree in photography at Escola Panamericana de Artes (São Paulo, Brazil -1997), Sandra turned her focus to cinematography, working on short films, documentaries, and commercials, in São Paulo and New York. In 2001, Bacchi attended the Hungarian International Cinematography Workshop, taught by Academy Award winner Vilmos Zsigmond and Laszlo Kovacs. Between 2002 and 2012, she was the executive producer and owner of the video production company Estação 8, based in São Paulo, Brazil. Bacchi moved to the US in 2012 and turned her focus to her artistic career. Since then, her work has been in thirty national and international group exhibitions, including shows at the McDonough Museum of Art, Griffin Museum of Photography, and Houston Center for Photography, and reviewed in publications, including LensCratch, Float Photo Magazine, and A Curator. In addition, Bacchi has attended several portfolio reviews, including the 2018 Review Santa Fe.

In 2019-2020, Bacchi was an artist in residence at the Pittsburgh Glass Center, creating new works to be part of The United Exhibition, and co-founded the "To See Beyond," a live and online experience that uses emotional intelligence and photography to broaden the participant's creative repertoire. In 2021, her short film Seeking Nowhere was screened during the "Glass, Meet the Future 2021 Film Festival" at the Toyama Glass Art Museum, Japan, the Museum of Arts and Design, New York, and at the North Lands Creative's website.

In the fall of 2022, Bacchi's Watermelons Are Not Strawberries photo series was published as a photobook by Yoffy Press, with essay by Sarah Kennel, and exhibited as a solo show at the Concept Art Gallery in Pittsburgh, where she joined Sarah Kennel for a talk. Bacchi also invited her two daughters, the series's subjects, and Divya Rao Heffley for a conversation at Silver Eye Center for Photography's book fair.

Bacchi is a Critical Mass 2021 top 200 finalist, a member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, a Pittsburgh Glass Center board member, and an artist-in-residence at the 2022-2023 Distillery residency Program at Brew House Association.

Solo Exhibition

2022

- “Watermelons Are Not Strawberries” - Concept Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA (Sept 10th - Oct.15th)

Two Person Exhibition

2020

- “Disability Visibility” - Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography, Curated by Shannon Benine. University of La Verne, CA (Apr. 03 - May 15)

Selected Group Exhibition

2024

- “Smash the ceiling, floors, and walls; take the broken shards and blow it back” - Curated by Alyssa Velazquez, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA (Oct 4th 2024 - Jan. 20th 2025)

- “2023-2024 Featured Artists Exhibition” - The Associated Artist of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA (Mar 9th - May. 17th)

- “Shared Concerns” - Verostko Center for the Arts / Saint Vincent College, curated by Andrew Julo, Latrobe, PA (Jan 25th - Apr. 4th)

2023

- “Glass From Every Angle”, 2023 Glass Art Society Detroit Conference, Detroit, MI (Jun 8th - July 31st)

- “Rip, Repair, repeat” - Brew House Association, the 2023 Distillery Group Exhibition, Pittsburgh, PA (Apr 20th - Jun 17th)

- “Balanced Response” - Media Arts Gallery, Robert Morris University, juried by Andrew Y. Ames and Christine Holtz Pittsburgh, PA (Jan 17th - Mar 17th)

2021

- “Gathered locally” - Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittisburgh, PA (Oct 1st - Jan 18th 2022)

- “Pull and Push” - Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, curated by Grace Chin, Pittisburgh, PA (Sept 16th - Oct 10th)

- “Anthropology of Motherhood” - McDonough Museum of Art, curated by Amy Bowman-McElhone and Fran Flaherty, Youngstown, OH

- “Creation | Creativity, a show about mothers” - Front Room Gallery, curated by Stephen Mallon, New York, NY, 2021 (May 1 - July 31)

- “Into the Light” - The Associated Artist of Pittsburgh, curated by Emma Vescio, Pittsburgh, PA (Feb. 22 - Mar. 13)

- “Glass, Meet the Future 2021 film festival”, North Land Creative, Toyama Glass Art Museum, Toyama, Japan, and Museum of Arts and Design - New York, NY (Mar. 20 - Apr. 04)

2020

- “The united Exhibition” - Pittsburgh Glass Center, curated by Johanna Lasner, juried Jaime Guerrero, and Karla Lamb Salazar. Pittsburgh, PA (Oct. 02 - Jan 2021)

- “Anthropology of Motherhood” - Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival and Carlow University, co-curated by Fran Flaherty and Amy Bowman-McElhone, and curatorial assistant by Katie Winter, Pittsburgh, PA (Oct. 19 - Jan. 29/2020)

- “Paraty em Foco 2020” - 16th International Photography Festival, Paraty, RJ, Brazil

- “Mastermind: Accessibility - Pittsburgh center for the Arts and Media. Juried by Pittsburgh Emerging Art Leaders network. Pittsburgh, PA

2019

- “Com os olhos no Céu da Coca” – Centro cultural Correios, curated by Sheila Oliveira, São Paulo, BR

- “25th Annual Juried Exhibition” - Griffin Museum of Photography, Juried by Julie Grahame, Winchester, MA

- “Intentional Spaces’ - Photo Place Gallery, juried by Laura Moya, Middlebury, VT

- "Dive In” - Don't Take Pictures, Juried by Kat Kiernan, online

- “The curated fridge - spring 2019”, Juried by Ashly Stohl and David Carol, Boston, MA

- “Stivers Photo Auction” - Stivers School for the Arts, Dayton, OH

2017

- “Photography Now 2017 Exhibition” - The Center for Photography at Woodstock, Juried by William Ewing, Woodstock, NY;

- “Stories” - PH21 Gallery, Juried by Zsolt Bátori, Juror’s choice, Budapest, HU

- “Surreal Photography exhibition” – The Passaporte, Juried by Sarah Sudhoff, Honorable Mention, (online)

- "Black/White" - A Smith Gallery, Juried by Elizabeth Avedon, Johnson City, TX

- “35th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition” - Houston Center for Photography, Juried by Rebecca Senf, Houston, TX

- "Black + White" - The Center for Fine Art Photography, Juried by Ann M. Jastrab, Fort Collins, CO;

- "40th Anniversary Print Sale" - The Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock, NY

- "She" – A Smith Gallery, Juried by Kat Kiernan, Johnson City, TX

- "Metro 31" - City Without Walls, Juried by Larry Ossei-Mensah, Siddhartha Mitter, Margaret O’Reilly, Newark, NJ

2016

- "Procession," – Pop Up Show curated by Gisela Gueiros, New York, NY

- "Art / Formatto," – Pop Up Show curated by Lica Pedroso, São Paulo - Brazil

Publications

- What Will You Remember? Book review, 2022

- Critica, Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California Newsletter, 2022

- Critica, Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California Newsletter, 2021

- iLeGaLiT, June 2020

- What will you remember, July 2019

- A Curator. December 2018

- LensCratch, Fine Art Photography Daily. November 2018

- Femme Fotale Vol. V: Resistance, Resilience & Hope. January 2018

- Edge of Humanity Magazine. September 2017

- Don’t Take Picture Magazine. July 2017

- Visionaire Magazine, Issue 41 World. 2003

Awards and Residency

- Residency, Brew House Association, Pittsburgh, PA, 2022-2023

- Award, Critical Mass 2021 top 200 finalist, Photolucida, 2021

- Residency, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA. 2019-2020

- Award, “Paraty em Foco” – Third Place at Paraty em Foco Festival, Paraty, Brazil, 2020

- Award, “As seen By” – First Place at BMW International Photography contest, Berlin, Germany, 1997

Panels and workshops

- “Watermelons Are Not Strawberries” photobook talk with Sarah Kennel, The Concept Art Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, 2022

- “Watermelons Are Not Strawberries” photobook talk, Silver Eye, Pittsburgh, PA, 2022

- Workshop, Transforme Seu Olhar (To See Beyond), a live and online experience that uses emotional intelligence and photography to broaden the participant's creative repertoire, 2020 – present

- Panel, Hanging on Every Word, listening and learning on immigration Art Panel discussion, SOFA, Intersect Chicago, online, 2020

- Panel, Chronic Illness Day Panel Talk, The Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography at University of La Verne, CA, online, 2020

- Panel, Com os olhos no céu da boca Panel talk, Empório Fotográfico, São Paulo, Brazil, online, 2019