stephanie Berger

category: Visual,

Contact & Info

  • stephanie@stephaniebergerphoto.com

Artist Statement

Stephanie Berger have been on the scene, photographing dance, music and live performance for over 30 years as the house photographer in New York City’s cultural homes such as The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center, The Park Avenue Armory, Carnegie Hall, The Met Museum, to name a few. As a photographer for the New York Times for many years, her assignments included everything from ballet to hip hop, Broadway openings to Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, portraits of presidential candidates, to bridge workers, teenagers and the beauty of Central Park. In 2016, she published her first book, Merce Cunningham: Beyond the Perfect Stage that is now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, George Pompidou Center, Dia Arts Foundation, and MassMoca. Her photographs have been exhibited at 92nd Street Y, The Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, The Edward Hopper House, The Gallery at the College of Staten Island (CUNY), Endicott College Spencer Gallery, Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, Pitts River Museum at Oxford University, The Walker Art Museum, ArtsWestchester, LOOK3 Photo Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Museum of the City of New York, Hudson Opera House Gallery, New York State Theatre at Lincoln Center, Roy Furman Gallery at Film Society, Gerald H. Lynch Theatre at John Jay College and Rockland Center for the Arts.

Educational Background

Berger graduated with a BA in Communications from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and studied photography at Hampshire College with Jerome Liebling. She worked as a photographer for NYC’s Department of Transportation in the 1980’s documenting New York City’s infrastructure and public works

Teaching Artist Experience

As the photographer for the 52nd Street Project, a group based in NYC’s Hell's Kitchen that works with neighborhood kids and professional theatre artists, I created a photography workshop for middle and high school students called: BREAK IT UP: What makes a Good Photograph. We focused on taking thoughtful photographs, making choices about subject, lighting, framing, etc. that culminated with presentations including written pieces by the students. Through a series of assignments, they wrote captions integrating English, journalism, and social studies along with their photographs.