Joan Barker is a Hudson Valley artist who employs both traditional and experimental methods in her photography and painting. She is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Artists’ Fellowship, The Village Voice Photography Grant and two Center for Photography at Woodstock Fellowships and most recently, the New Visions Award from the Woodstock Artists Association and Museum. Her photographs have been featured in solo and group exhibitions including O K Harris, NYC, Photographers’ Gallery, London, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson, NY, and the California Museum of Photography in Riverside.

Joan’s work is included in numerous collections such as The Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ, The Dorsky Museum, New Paltz, NY and The New York Public Library.

Joan completed her MFA at SUNY New Paltz where she taught for over 20 years. She was the recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching for the academic year 2013-2014. Joan is a member of the Women Photographers Collective of the Hudson Valley and her photographs documenting the Fresh Air Fund’s programs have frequently been featured in The New York Times.

"I have ideas I want to see, places I want to explore, stories I want to tell and discoveries I need to make. Through art, I move memories, emotions, dreams and current events onto paper, canvas, cloth, cardboard and found objects. Materials and techniques ignite the process. Substrates determine their physical form. Over time, each viewer's unique perception completes the picture."