Dream Sequence as Portrait: Photography Workshop with Shala Miller

"Dream Sequence as Portrait" is an image and text workshop led by Shala Miller, exploring how portraiture is a sum of many parts. Through collage, students will examine the relationship between text and image, using personal dreams as inspiration. The workshop begins with a discussion of Yusuf Ahmed’s portraiture style and how dreams shape his exhibition, Between Nostalgia & Dreams, which is currently on view at The Africa Center.. Together, we’ll identify the key elements of a portrait before a short writing session, where students will recall and document a memorable dream. Excerpts from their writings will then be paired with photographs to create their collages. Instax cameras, magazines, and books will be provided, and students are encouraged to bring their own materials. After an hour of production, we’ll share and reflect on the completed works as a group.

The workshop is free for participants, and materials will be provided.

Artist Bio:

Shala Miller, (b. 1993, Cleveland, OH) also known as Freddie June when they sing, was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio by two southerners named Al and Ruby. At around the age of 10 or 11, Miller discovered quietude, the kind you’re sort of pushed into, and then was fooled into thinking that this is where they should stay put. Since then, Miller has been trying to find their way out, and find her way into an understanding of herself and her history, using photography, video, writing and singing as an aid in this process.

Taking up skin as a site of history and intimacy with the self and across generations, they hold space for the body’s vulnerabilities and maladies. Miller works across photography, film, writing, music, and performance as a means of meditating on the conjunction of desire, mourning, pain, and pleasure.

Miller holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her book, Tender Noted, was voted best photo book of 2022 by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and her artwork is in the collections of MoMA, The Studio Museum, the Hessel Museum, the Akeroyd Collection and The Lumber Room among others.

Info: Due to limited capacity, only 8 spots are available for this workshop. Participants will be accepted from the application pool on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants will be notified via email whether they have been allocated a spot, or placed on the waitlist. To apply, simply fill out the short questionnaire linked to the Ticket registration button on this page. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

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