ZOE STRAUSS' BIOGRAPHY

> Zoe Strauss was born in 1970 in Philadelphia.

> On her 30th birthday Strauss was given a camera and since then she has been taking pictures of people, of Philadelphia neighborhoods, abandoned places, empty parking lots, etc. Zoe Strauss wasn't trained in photography and did not graduate from college. She took only one photography course at a community college as a teenager.

> In 1995, she started the 10-year-long Philadelphia Public Art Project. Its goal is to make art affordable to those who live in the community and to show them how the neighborhood's everyday life looks like. Every year, Strauss has a one-woman exhibit "Under I-95," which takes place under the interstate highway in South Philadelphia. The prints are dispalyed on concrete pillars under the highway. The show is usually in the beginning of May, rain or shine. Strauss sells copies of her prints for $5.

> In 2002, Zoe Strauss received a Seedling Award in photography from Leeway Foundation.

> In 2005, she received a Pew Fellowship.

> In 2006, her work was included in the Whitney Biennial and she had a solo exhibition "Ramp Project: Zoe Strauss" at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia.

> Generally, a photo by Strauss is a portrait, a fragment of urban architecture or a text-based image. Zoe Strauss is often a part of the community she is portraying. She manages to build a strong connection to her subjects, even if it last only for a few minutes, and this connection is what makes her portraits so strong.

> Zoe Strauss was named a 2007 USA Gund Fellow and granted $50 000 by United States Artists, a foundation dedicated to the support of the top American artists.