Kat Kiernan is an artist and writer in Brooklyn, NY. Often using herself as her subject, her photographs explore mythologies of womanhood and feelings of uncertainty. She has exhibited in solo and group shows throughout the United States and been featured in publications including China Life, Lenscratch, and The Woven Tale Press. In 2012, she was named one of Artpil’s “30 under 30” women photographers to watch.

From 2013 to 2021 Kat published and served as Editor-in-Chief of the photography magazine, Don’t Take Pictures. In 2015, she received the Griffin Museum’s Rising Star Award for her contributions to the photographic community. Kat’s writings on photography have been published in journals and blogs including Photograph, Art New England, Feature Shoot, and Big, Red, and Shiny, as well as in books, including Crossing (2024), Agnieszka Sosnowska: Myth of a Woman (The National Museum of Iceland, 2019), and The Artist as Culture Producer: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life (Intellect, 2017). She holds a BFA in photography from Lesley University College of Art and Design and an MA in Art Market Studies from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Her stock photography is represented by Glasshouse Images. 

KatKiernanPhotography [at] gmail [dot] com

Solo Exhibitions

2015 Between Earth and Water, Sierra Arts Foundation, Reno, NV

Awards and Honors

2015 Rising Star Award, Griffin Museum of Photography.
            Awarded for contributions to the photographic community.

2012 30 Under 30 Women Photographers
            Named one of 30 women photographers under the age of 30 to watch.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023 Night Lights, Denver, CO

2020 FRESH finalist, Klompching Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

2020 A Yellow Rose Project

2019 Unbound8!, Candela Books + Gallery, Richmond, VA

2017 Size Doesn't Matter, Bernarducci Meisel Gallery, New York, NY

2016-17 Space, Griffin Museum of Photography, Lafayette City Center Gallery, Boston, MA; Camera Commons, Dover, NH

2014 Alternative Processes, juried by Christopher James, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO

2014 Photographs by Emerging Artists (auction), Daniel Cooney Fine Art, New York, NY

2013 Adventures Across the Seven Seas, United Photo Industries, Brooklyn, NY

2013 Soar, Jennifer Schwartz Gallery, Atlanta, GA

2013 40 Under 40, Shenandoah Valley Art Center, Waynesboro, VA

2012 The Kiernan Ten, Jennifer Schwartz Gallery, Atlanta, GA

2011 Shifting of Form, The Art Institute of Boston Gallery, Cambridge, MA

2011 Surreal Visions, The Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY

Speaking

2021 Lecturer, Los Angeles Center of Photography

2020 Panelist, Publisher’s Panel, 2020 Photo Festival, Philadelphia, PA

2020 Guest Speaker, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

2018 Panelist, More Than a Post: Online Galleries and Magazines, Filter Photo, Chicago, IL

2018 Guest Critic, FIT, New York, NY

2017 Panelist, Living and Sustaining a Creative Life, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York, NY

2017 Guest Speaker, The New School, New York, NY

2016 Guest Speaker, Hollins University, Roanoke, VA

Education

2021 MA Art Market Studies, Fashion Institute of Technology, department medal recipient

2011 BFA Photography & Art History, Lesley University College of Art and Design, magna cum laude