tema stauffer

bio

Tema Stauffer was born in 1973 and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She graduated from Oberlin College in 1995 and received a Master's Degree in Photography from The University of Illinois at Chicago in 1998.  She received CAAP grants in 1999 and 2000 for a project photographing dog shows throughout the Midwest.  She also contributed a series of photographs shot on ride-alongs with police officers to the CITY2000, an archive of photographs examining the city of Chicago in the year 2000.

Tema moved to Minneapolis in 2001. She collaborated on projects with a minimalist music ensemble called Smattering, including a fusion of digital photography, drawing, and sound at the Cowles Conservatory of The Walker Art Center in July 2002.  A large body of her work was shown in an exhibition with The Minnesota Center for Photography at The Katherine E. Nash Gallery at The University of Minnesota, and in a solo exhibition at The Rochester Art Center in 2004.

She has participated in seven group shows at Jen Bekman Gallery and her solo show, “American Stills”, opened in October 2004. Fifteen images from this body of work were selected by The Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College in Chicago for their Midwest Photographers Project.

Her work has also been exhibited at The Chicago Cultural Center, The Terra Museum of American Art, The Musee Departmental d' Art Contemporain de Rouchechourt, The Hyde Park Art Center, The Detroit Contemporary, The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, The 3rd Ward Brooklyn, Tyler School of Art, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Adrian College Gallery, Central Lakes College Gallery, The Joymore Gallery, The Butcher Shop Gallery, The Gallery 400, The Icebox Gallery, Heaven Gallery, David Allen Gallery, Jon Oulman Gallery, The Lyceum Theatre Gallery and Moti Hasson Gallery. She was a finalist for the McKnight Photography Fellowship in 2005 and was nominated for the KLM Paul Huf Award in 2008.  

Tema has shot for The Chicago Reader, The City Pages, The Rake Magazine, Lavender Magazine, The Village Voice, and W Magazine.  She has also contributed to on-line publications including ausgang, A Field Guide to the North American Family and Humble Arts Foundation’s Group Show. 

Tema currently lives in New York City and teaches at The School of the International Center of Photography. 

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