Hannah Frieser is a curator, writer and artist. She became the Executive Director of the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) in December 2015. Nestled in the Mid-Hudson region of New York State, the center prides itself for its exhibitions, workshops and residency programs. >> press release Woodstock Times (Dec. 19, 2015)

She has curated exhibitions with leading contemporary photographers such as Pipo Nguyen-duy, Kanako Sasaki, Don Gregorio Antón, Angelika Rinnhofer, Alexander Gronsky, and Shen Wei, as well as traveling exhibitions and art projects for Suzanne Opton, Adam Magyar and Barry Anderson. Her essays have been featured in publications such as Contact Sheet and Nueva Luz, and in monographs for artists such as Susan kae Grant and David Taylor.

Hannah served as director of Light Work, a photographic arts organization and artist residency program in Syracuse, New York, for almost nine years. Prior to this, she worked for the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) for over a decade, including serving on SPE's national board of directors. A former review panel member for the New York State Council on the Arts, she has reviewed portfolios and juried exhibitions worldwide for PhotoVisa, Critical Mass, FotoFest, Rhubarb Rhubarb and FotoTriennale.dk, among others, and is a frequent lecturer on photography and contemporary photographic practices.

Hannah co-chaired the 2010 SPE National Conference, "Facing Diversity: Leveling the Playing Field in the Photographic Arts," with Miriam Romais. The main speakers included Kip Fulbeck, Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie, Veronica Passalacqua, and Dawoud Bey. In 2011, she was the chair of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic SPE Regional Conference, "Photographers + Publishing," featuring Alec Soth, John Gossage, Mary Virginia Swanson, Suzanne Opton, Andy Adams, and more.

Together with gallerist Charles Guice, she is currently developing the online initiative Converging Perspectives that will promote dialogue about contemporary photography, its practitioners and innovative exhibitions from an international perspective.

Hannah Frieser can be contacted at mail@hannahfrieser.com

Who you are matters because who I am encourages you to be the best you can be and to reach for the stars. Who I am matters because by being me I make the undreamt possible and I create the world I always wanted to live in. A world that has us working together, enthusiastically joining forces to create something of meaning, something unpredictable. Something that would not come to be, were it not for you and me now.

My creative work takes an intuitive approach to tell stories that center around family, belonging, home and culture. The format of my work changes significantly to fit each project. While photography has remained central in my work, I frequently twist and bend it beyond its two dimensions and bring in other materials to create three-dimensional art objects and artist books. Photography is no longer a means to an end. It is instead my main process to be used with other processes. Photographs have become a raw material instead of being the final product.