Artist-in-Residence Program
The Artist-in-Residence, an inaugural program at the Museums at Washington and Lee University, is an opportunity for an invited artist to pursue artistic projects that bring new knowledge and fresh perspectives inspired by the Museums' art collection. The residency plays a critical role in enhancing the art collection's vitality, helping to realize the Museums' mission to advance learning through direct engagement with the collection. Invited artists receive curatorial guidance, research support, studio space, and a stipend. While in the studio, artists engage our communities through workshops, exhibitions, and educational programs.
Stephanie Shih: Inaugural Artist-In-Residence (2023)
Residency Project
Stephanie Shih will produce a new body of still life works for a project titled LONG TIME NO SEE (好久不見), which examines the Museums’ collection of Chinese export porcelain as diasporic objects and explores the complexities of the Asian and Asian American experiences. The still lifes will combine objects drawn from the ceramics collection, archival materials, personal narratives, and the natural world around W&L and Lexington. Her project will culminate in a solo exhibition in the Reeves Museum of Ceramics in the Summer of 2024 through the Spring of 2025.
(Photo courtesy of the artist)
About the Artist
Stephanie Shih (史欣雲) is a Los Angeles-based photographer known for her painterly use of shadow applied to playful perspectives on food. Shih, a second generation Taiwanese-Chinese American, explores themes of contemporary and historical cultural dynamics of the Asian American diaspora through still life photography. She started making photographs with her dad’s half-frame camera on childhood road trips but only took up photography seriously later in life while in graduate school. Shih has exhibited at Hashimoto Contemporary LA, Griffin Museum of Photography, USC Pacific Asia Museum, and The Royal Photographic Society (UK). Her photography has been featured in Elle Girl Korea, 7x7, Bloomberg Businessweek, Gastronomica, Gourmet Live, Saveur, Fine Cooking, Buzzfeed, and the Los Angeles Times. Shih earned a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Stanford University and is a professor at the University of Southern California.
Highlights from the Residency
Stephanie Shih, Artist-In-Residence, produces LONG TIME NO SEE (好久不見)
"This project is my very first time setting up a whole photography project from scratch ... Although I only participated for a short period of time, this was such a fun and inspirational experience for me. It makes me rethink how I perceive art, especially photography. Photography is not only about capturing life but also about building a life within itself."
Linh Ngo '26
Student Studio Assistant