"Expose a child to a particular environment at his susceptible time and he will perceive in shapes of that environment until he dies."
—Wallace Stegner, from Wolf Willow

Sarah Christianson (b. 1982) grew up on a four-generation family farm in the heart of eastern North Dakota's Red River Valley (an hour north of Fargo). Immersed in that vast expanse of the Great Plains, she developed a strong affinity for its landscape. This connection to place has had a profound effect on her work: despite moving to San Francisco in 2009, she continues to document the subtleties and nuances of the Midwestern landscape and experience through long-term projects.

Christianson earned an MFA in photography from the University of Minnesota. Her work has been exhibited internationally and can be found in the collections of Duke University, the National Museum of Photography in Copenhagen, and several institutions in the Midwest. She has received grants from the San Francisco Arts Commission and the Center for Cultural Innovation. Christianson’s first book, Homeplace (Daylight Books, Fall 2013), documents the history and uncertain future of her family’s farm by interweaving her images with old snapshots and historical documents selected from her personal archive. Her ongoing project, When the Landscape is Quiet Again, examines the oil boom occurring in western North Dakota. Throughout her work, she uses her personal experiences and connection to the land to evoke a strong sense of place, history, and time.

Education
MFA, Photography, University of Minnesota, 2006-2009
BFA, Photography, Minnesota State University Moorhead, 2000-2005

Solo Exhibitions
When the Landscape is Quiet Again, Workspace Gallery, 2016
When the Landscape is Quiet Again, Macalester College Gallery, 2016
When the Landscape is Quiet Again, Fargo Public Library, 2015
When the Landscape is Quiet Again, SF Camerawork, 2014
Homeplace, Daylight Project Space, 2013
Homeplace, RayKo Photo Center, 2013
Homeplace, Northwest Art Center, Minot State University, 2010
Homeplace, H. Williams Teaching Gallery, Concordia University, 2009
Homeplace, Boynton Health Services, University of Minnesota, 2008

Selected Group Exhibitions
2021
Extraction: Art on the Edge of the Abyss, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel

2020
The de Young Open, de Young Museum, San Francisco
26th Annual Juried Members Exhibition, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester

2018
Intrepid Film Photography Awards, British Journal of Photography Gallery, London
Women of the West, Scott Nichols Gallery, San Francisco
The Tipping Point, Corden|Potts Gallery, San Francisco
Landscapes 2018, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins
Home, SFO Museum Gallery, San Francisco
Art/Act: Local, David Brower Center, Berkeley

2017
Of Memory, Bone, & Myth, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks
In Response: Revisiting Documerica, Newspace Center for Photography, Portland

2016
Portfolio 2016, Atlanta Photography Group Gallery, Atlanta
This Land is Our Land, Zener Schon Gallery, Mill Valley
4th Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography, Berlin

2015
The Bakken Boom, Plains Art Museum, Fargo
agriCULTURE, Herndon Art Gallery, Antioch College, Yellow Springs
The Photobook Show, Benaki Museum, Athens Photo Festival
Field Study, David Weinberg Photography, Filter Photo Festival, Chicago
Photo Book Exhibition, La Fototeca, GuatePhoto Festival

2014
The Human-Altered Landscape, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury

2013
Cover to Cover: A Survey of Photo Books, SF Camerawork, San Francisco
Beautiful My Desire, wallspace gallery, Santa Barbara & Seattle

2012
X Libris, Root Division, San Francisco
Transient States, SF Camerawork, San Francisco
FotoFocus, Mercantile Library, Cincinatti

2011
You Look Familiar, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco
High Plains Drifters, RayKo Photo Center, San Francisco
Aground, Photo Center NW, Seattle
Artist+Artist, Rohde Contemporary, Copenhagen Photo Festival

2010
A Reasonable Facsimile, Draewell Gallery, Judson University, Elgin
Texas National 2010, Cole Art Center, Nacogdoches

2009
Gamlelandet (Old Country), Umber Studios, Minneapolis
North American Graduate Art Survey, Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

2008
Arts Dakota Traveling Exhibition, Curator: North Dakota Art Galleries Association
Coalition of Photographic Arts 2008, Milwaukee
The Populated Landscape, Flanders Contemporary Art, Minneapolis
Americas 2008 Paperworks, Northwest Art Center, Minot

2007
Bamboo International Photo Festival, Anji, China
Photocentric 2007, Minnesota Center for Photography, Minneapolis

Monographs
Homeplace, Daylight Books, 2013

Collections
Archive of Documentary Arts, Duke University
Boynton Health Center, University of Minnesota
Center for the Book, University of Iowa
Contemporary Arts Center Library, New Orleans
Filter Photo Library, Chicago
Hellenic Centre for Photography, Athens
La Fototeca Library, Guatemala City
Minot State University
National Museum of Photography, Copenhagen
University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections
University of South Dakota, Vermillion

Selected Honors and Awards
CPA Landscape Grant, Center for Photographic Art, 2022
Juror’s Award, The Center for Fine Art Photography Landscapes exhibit, 2018
Individual Artist Award, The Santo Foundation, 2017
Intrepid Film Photography Award, 2017
Archive of Documentary Arts Collection Award, Duke University, 2015
Creative Capacity Fund Quick Grant, Center for Cultural Innovation, 2014
Investing in Artists Grant, Center for Cultural Innovation, 2013
Individual Artist Commission Grant, San Francisco Arts Commission, 2013
National Society for Photographic Education Student Award, 2009
Walter H. Judd International Graduate Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 2008
Gus Gustafson Memorial Photography Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 2008
Christopher Cardozo/Edward S. Curtis Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 2008
Midwest Society for Photographic Education Scholarship, 2007
Graduate Research Partnership Program Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 2007

Selected Artist Lectures
Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, 2020
San Francisco Art Institute, 2017
Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, 2016
Macalester College, St. Paul 2016
Fargo Public Library, 2015
City College of San Francisco, 2014
San Francisco Camerawork 2014
Photoville, Brooklyn, 2013
Mills College, Oakland, 2011
Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, 2011
Minot State University, 2010
Society for Photographic Education West Conference, 2009
College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, 2008
Midwest Society for Photographic Education Conference, 2007

Selected Press & Interviews
Analog Forever Magazine, Issue 2, Summer 2020
North Dakota’s Oil Boom, Fraction Magazine, Nov 2019
Q&A, The Heavy Collective, July 2019
When the landscape is quiet again, British Journal of Photography, Sept 2018
What (and How) Photography Collectors Buy, PDN, Aug 2018
When the Landscape is Quiet Again, MSNBC, Dec 2015
Broken hearts of the Bakken, Tioga Tribune, Sept 2015
When the Landscape is Quiet Again, LENSCRATCH, Sept 2015
Homeplace, All About Photo, Oct 2015
In North Dakota, booms past & present, High Country News, July 2014
At a Crossroads, Traill County Tribune, July 2014
Bearing Witness, Fargo Forum, Apr 2014
When the Landscape is Quiet Again, Art Practical, Mar 2014
When the Landscape is Quiet Again, Mother Jones, Feb 2014
SF Camerawork Presents Sarah Christianson, Feb 2014
Homeplace Book Review, photo-eye, Jan 2014
Homeplace Book Review, Fraction Magazine, Dec 2013
Book chronicles Homestead's 4 Generations, Hillsboro Banner, July 2012
Sarah Christianson, LENSCRATCH, June 2012
Sarah Christianson, LENSCRATCH, Dec 2009