TARA
WRAY

Tara Wray is an artist whose autobiographical work draws inspiration from everyday life, exploring themes of family, mental health, humor, and dogs. Wray works across various mediums, including photography, painting, documentary filmmaking, and writing. Her work has been showcased at Lincoln Center, as well as in galleries, museums, universities, on television, and at film festivals across the United States and internationally. Wray resides off-grid in rural Vermont with her filmmaker husband, their identical twin sons, and their dog, Hula.

tara@tarawray.net

EDUCATION

  • BA, New York University, 2004 
  • University of Joensuu, Finland, 1999 
  • Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, 1996 

PHOTOBOOKS

  • Book of Sons, Lecturis Press, 2023
  • Too Tired Project Anthology, Vol 1. Too Tired Press, Woodstock, VT, 2021 (co-editor)
  • Year of the Beast, Too Tired Press, Woodstock, VT, 2021
  • El Dorado Freddy’s, Belt Publishing, Cleveland, OH, 2020 (collab w/ Danny Caine)
  • Too Tired for Sunshine, Yoffy Press, Atlanta, GA, 2018
  • Come Again When You Can’t Stay So Long, self-published, Barnard, VT, 2014
  • Each One Wonderful, self-published, Barnard, VT, 2013
  • Barnard People, self-published, Barnard, VT, 2012

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

  • Book of Sons, Ava Gallery (West Lebanon, NH) 2022
  • Too Tired for Sunshine, Christel DeHaan Fine Art Center (Indianapolis, IN) 2019
  • Too Tired for Sunshine, Brush Art Gallery (Canton, NY) 2019

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

  • Book of Sons, Unbound vol. XII 2024 at Artistree, Pomfret, VT 2024
  • Paintings, Kishka 3rd Anniversary Exhibition & Auction, WRJ, VT 2024 
  • Pablo's Birthday 21st Birthday Exhibition (New York, NY) 2023
  • Nothing to Look Forward To But The Past, TULCA Festival of Visual Arts (Galway, Ireland) 2020 
  • Humble Arts Foundation Group Show 61, Loss, curated by Tara Wray & Jon Feinstein 2019
  • #TooTiredWarsaw, Leica Gallery, sponsored by US Embassy, (Warsaw, Poland) 2019
  • #TooTiredBoston, School of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA) 2019 
  • #TooTiredIndy, U of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, IN) 2019 
  • #TooTiredVermont, VT Center for Photography (Brattleboro, VT) 2019 
  • #TooTiredMelbourne, Noir Darkroom (Melbourne, Australia) 2019
  • #TooTiredChicago, LATITUDE (Chicago, IL) 2019 
  • #TooTiredCanton, St. Lawrence University (Canton, NY) 2019
  • #TooTiredSantaFe, in conjunction with Review Santa Fe (NM) 2018
  • Here + Now, Pablo’s Birthday & OFFICE IMPART (New York, NY) 2019
  • Art on a Postcard, Photo London (London, UK) 2019
  • Museum Hundertwasser, KUNST HAUS WIEN (Vienna, Austria) 2019 
  • treat america project, FOLEY GALLERY (New York, NY) 2019
  • treat america project, OSNY PROJECT SPACE (New York, NY) 2019
  • Humble Cats, Photoville (New York, NY) 2018
  • Summer Exhibition, Duncan Miller Gallery (Santa Monica, CA) 2018 
  • 2018 Open Exhibition, Vermont Center for Photography (Brattleboro, VT) 2018  
  • Context 2018, Filter Photo (Chicago, IL) 2018 
  • Flora 2018, Rankin Arts Photography Center (Columbus, GA) 2018
  • Click Bait, The Front Gallery, PhotoNOLA (New Orleans, LA) 2017
  • Printed Matter, MoMA PS1, New York Art Book Fair (Queens, NY) 2017 
  • Blue Library Vol 2: Conversations, 500X Gallery (Dallas, TX) 2017
  • Blue Library Vol 2., Antenna Works Gallery (New Orleans, LA) 2016
  • One Place or Another, Oranbeg Press, Aviary Gallery (Jamaica Plain, MA) 2014
  • Holiday Book Bazaar, with Oranbeg Press, Aperture Gallery (New York, NY) 2013
  • All Visual Boston Slideshow, Spectacle Gallery (Jamaica Plain, MA) 2013
  • Double Vision, with Chris Lusher, Blank Gallery (Huntington, WV) 2012

COMMISSIONED PHOTOGRAPHY 

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

COLLECTIONS 

  • Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX
  • George Eastman Museum Library, Rochester, NY 
  • Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Yale University, New Haven, CT 
  • Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 
  • Dartmouth College Book Arts Workshop, Hanover, NH 
  • Antenna Gallery Reading Room Archive, New Orleans, LA

COLLABORATIVE PROJECT

Founder, Too Tired Project, an arts initiative advancing mental health advocacy through the use of photography, 2018-2023.

CURATION FOR TOO TIRED PROJECT

  • #TooTiredBoston (School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA) 
  • #TooTiredWarsaw, Leica Gallery, sponsored by US Embassy, (Warsaw, Poland) 2019
  • #TooTiredBoston, School of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA) 2019 
  • #TooTiredIndy, U of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, IN) 2019 
  • #TooTiredVermont, VT Center for Photography (Brattleboro, VT) 2019 
  • #TooTiredMelbourne, Noir Darkroom (Melbourne, Australia) 2019
  • #TooTiredChicago, LATITUDE (Chicago, IL) 2019 
  • #TooTiredCanton, St. Lawrence University (Canton, NY) 2019
  • #TooTiredSantaFe, in conjunction with Review Santa Fe (NM) 2018

WRITING ON PHOTOGRAPHY

  • “Photographer Aline Smithson Makes The Familiar Look Beautiful And Bizarre: Lady Shooters,” BUST Magazine, May 4, 2018
  • “Dreamy Photos of a Chinese Swimming Club on the North Korean Border,” VICE, February 19, 2018
  • “Some Days Just Are: Zora J Murff & Rana Young,” HuffPost, January 11, 2018
  • “Stunning Photos of Small-Town Pennsylvania,” VICE, December 20, 2017
  • “Some Days Just Are: Meron Menghistab & Aline Smithson November 21, 2017
  • “Some Days Just Are: Mark Caceres & Darin Mickey,” HuffPost, November 8, 2017
  • “Dreamlike Photos of Small-Town Life in South Florida,” VICE, October 5, 2017
  • “Striking Photos That Turn Everyday Life into an Elaborate Ballet,” VICE, October 2, 2017
  • “Some Days Just Are: Frank Blazquez and Matthew J. Brown,” HuffPost, September 7, 2017
  • “Some Days Just Are: Lance Cozzens and Sara J. Winston,” HuffPost, August 21, 2017
  • “These Photos Capture the Power of Political Resistance,” VICE, August 10, 2017
  • “Some Days Just Are: Michael Northrup and Akasha Rabut,” HuffPost, August 1, 2017
  • “Photos of Aggression and American Masculinity,” VICE, July 31, 2017
  • “Photographer Vivian Fu Explores Race, Gender, Sexuality—And Food: Lady Shooters,” BUST Magazine, May 15, 2017
  • “These Photos Capture American Life on the Fringe,” VICE, May 1, 2017
  • “These Photos Find Humor in the Banality of Everyday Life,” VICE, April 21, 2017
  • “Photographer Jackie Dives Tells Stories That Need To Be Told: Lady Shooters,” BUST Magazine, March 28, 2017
  • “Photographer Melissa Bunni Elian Explores Different Avenues Of Blackness: Lady Shooters,” BUST Magazine, January 3, 2017
  • “Michelle Groskopf Is An Out And Proud Queer Street Photographer: Lady Shooters,” BUST Magazine, November 30, 2016
  • “Doin’ Work: Matt Eich,” HuffPost, November 22, 2016
  • “Doin’ Work: Vivienne Maricevic,” HuffPost, September 29, 2016
  • “Photographer Amy Touchette Captures The Inner Lives Of Teenagers: Lady Shooters,” BUST Magazine, September 9, 2016
  • “Doin’ Work: Sian Davey,” HuffPost, August 9, 2016
  • “Christine Osinski’s Photographs Show 1980s New York In A New Way: Lady Shooters,” BUST Magazine, August 1, 2016
  • “Doin’ Work: Ed Panar,” HuffPost, June 21, 2016
  • “Doin’ Work: Flo Fox,” HuffPost, May 19, 2016
  • “Doin’ Work: Chris Verene,” HuffPost, May 10, 2016
  • “Doin’ Work: Arlene Gottfried,” HuffPost, April 25, 2016
  • “Doin’ Work: Stacy Kranitz,” Huff Post, April 13, 2016
  • “Doin’ Work: Zora J Murff,” HuffPost, April 6, 2016
  • “Doin’ Work: Susan Lipper,” HuffPost, March 25, 2016
  • “A Visit With Photographer Rosalind Fox Solomon, Seeker Of The Bizarre And The Beautiful,” HuffPost, February 29, 2016

DOCUMENTARY FILMS 

CARTOON COLLEGE, 2012

Distribution by Gunpowder & Sky, New York, NY

SELECTED SCREENINGS 

  • Expozine (Montreal, Quebec) 2013 
  • San Francisco Documentary Festival (San Francisco, CA ) 2013
  • Glasgow Film Festival (Glasgow, Scotland) 2013
  • Cartoon Art Museum (San Francisco, CA) 2013
  • Columbia University (New York, NY) 2013
  • Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH) 2013
  • BilBOlBul International Comics Festival (Bologna, Italy) 2013
  • Resene Art & Design Film Festival (Wellington, New Zealand) 2013
  • Bangkok Design Festival (Bangkok, Thailand ) 2013
  • Jacob Burns Film Center (Pleasantville, NY) 2012
  • Denver Film Society (Denver, CO) 2012
  • SPACE Gallery (Maine College of Art, Portland, ME) 2012 
  • Vancouver International Film Festival (Vancouver, BC) 2012
  • Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, IL) 2012 
  • Orange County Museum of Art (Orange County, CA) 2012
  • Museum of Design (Atlanta, GA) 2012
  • Palm Beach International Film Festival (Palm Beach, FL) 2012
  • Newport Beach Film Festival (Newport Beach, CA) 2012 

MANHATTAN, KANSAS, 2006

Distribution by Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA

SELECTED SCREENINGS 

  • The Documentary Channel (2009-2012)
  • Colorado Public Television, KBDI-TV/12 (Denver, Colorado) 2010
  • Oktostop Austrian Television (Vienna, Austria) 2008 
  • Docúpolis International Documentary Film Festival (Barcelona, Spain) 2008
  • Kansas Public Television, KPTS 8 (Wichita, KS) 2008
  • Regular Company Films Screening Series (Zagreb, Croatia) 2007
  • Biografilm Festival (Bologna, Italy) 2007 
  • India International Women’s Film Festival (New Delhi, India) 2007 
  • Jackson Hole Film Festival (Jackson Hole, WY) 2007 
  • Wisconsin Film Festival (Madison, WI) 2007 
  • Maine International Film Festival (Waterville, ME) 2007 
  • San Francisco Independent Film Festival (San Francisco, CA) 2007
  • Fine Arts Theater (Asheville, NC) 2006 
  • Sweet Briar College (Sweet Briar, VA) 2006
  • Clemson University (Clemson, SC) 2006
  • Nickelodeon Theater (Columbia, SC) 2006
  • Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center (New York, NY) 2006
  • SXSW Film Festival (Austin, TX) 2006

FILMMAKING GRANTS & AWARDS

  • Chicken & Egg Pictures, 2009
  • LEF Foundation, 2008
  • NYSCA Distribution Grant for New York State Artists, 2008
  • Best Film, Brooklyn Arts Council 41st Int’l Film & Video Festival, Brooklyn, NY, 2008
  • Audience Award, SXSW Film Festival, 2006
  • Opening Night Gala Selection, Tallgrass Film Festival, 2006
  • Jerome Foundation New York City Media Arts Production Grant, 2005
  • IFP Market Selection, Documentary Work-in-Progress, 2005
  • Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers Public Television Mentorship Sessions, 2005
  • Anthony Radziwill Documentary Fund Production Grant, 2005

SELECTED PUBLISHED FICTION

  • “On the Floor and in the Middle of Everything,” Black Warrior Review, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (Pushcart Prize nomination) 2004
  • “Stories Three,” Gulf Coast, Houston, TX (Pushcart Prize nomination) 2003
  • “Billy Blue Face,” New Orleans Review (Loyola University, New Orleans, LA) 2003
  • “Flatbed, Seabed,” Pindeldyboz, New York, NY (Notable Selection, Best American Nonrequired Reading, edited by Dave Eggers) 2003
  • “The Plant Story,” Land-Grant College Review, New York, NY (Pushcart Prize nomination) 2003
  • “A Sometimes Never Mother,” Fiction, City College of New York  2002
  • “Anyway, Thank You for Asking,” Sycamore Review (Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN) 2002
  • Mini Tremble Fits, Chapbook, 2000; second printing, 2001




—Drawing by Jason Polan

Using Format