Quick Facts
Biography
Nancy Borowick (born 1985, Chappaqua, New York) is an American artist, photographer, and author. She studied photography at the International Center of Photography, and her work primarily documents family structures and personal histories to dissect how humans interact with, grieve, and memorialize loved ones. Her book The Family Imprint (2017) uses documentary photography and ephemera to tell the story of her parents who were both diagnosed with stage-four cancer and died within a year of each other. Her work has been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad.
The Family Imprint
Borowick's project The Family Imprint began as a project at the International Center of Photography as she documented her mother who was diagnosed with stage-four cancer. The photographs mostly depict her parents in various stages of diagnosis, delight, joy, sadness, Borowick's own wedding, and her parents'funerals. Borowick found difficulty in getting publishers interested in printing the book—many of which found the topic and the work too dark or solemn. In an attempt to both prove an audience existed for the project, Borowick launched a Kickstarter campaign that raised $65,313 to cover fees for printing, distribution, and a publishing agent. The book was published in 2017.
Awards
2018
- Humanitarian Award by the Women That Soar organization
- German Photo Book Award for The Family Imprint , Bronze Prize
2017
- PDN Photo Annual Book Prize, The Family Imprint (Hatje Cantz, 2017, dist. by DAP)
- International Photo Awards, 1st prize in Documentary Books & 2nd prize in People
- NPR Favorite Visual Stories of 2017
- Wall Street Journal Book Shelf 2017 for The Family Imprint
- Photo-Eye Best Books of 2017 for The Family Imprint
- Women Photograph, Best Books of 2017 for The Family Imprint
2016
- World Press Photo, 2nd prize, Long Term Projects category, Amsterdam Finalist, World Report Award, Milan, Italy
2015
- National Geographic + Visura contest, USA
- Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture
2014
- Eddie Adams Workshop Award- Innovation in Visual Storytelling, USA
- Emerging Photographer Magazine, USA
- New York Photo Festival, Photo World, USA
- Lens Culture Top 5 Emerging Talent, exhibition in Spain, Japan & UK
- Best of ASMP 2014 featured photographer, USA
Selected Exhibitions
2018
- Head On Festival, Sydney, Australia
- Darmstadt Photo Days, Darmstadt, Germany
- German Cancer Congress Convention, Germany
- Dallas Center For Photography, Dallas, Texas, USA
2017
- Anastasia Photo Gallery of New York City, USA
- Five-month public installation with United Photo Industries Gallery NYC, USA
- F3 Gallery- Freiraum fur fotografie, Berlin, Germany
- Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film, Singapore
- Trento Festival of Economics and Health Impacts, Trento, Italy
- Ono Cultural Center, Bern, Switzerland
- Union College Featured Alumni show, New York, USA
2016
- World Press Photo International (Travelling show through 100 cities around the world) Festival of Ethical Photography, Lodi, Italy
- Lumix Festival, Hanover, Germany
- Photojourn Festival, Thailand
- Xaviar Miserachs Biennial, Girona, Spain
- Refraction Gallery, Wisconsin, USA
2015
- Visa Pour L’Image Festival, Perpignan, France
- International Photo Festival, Leiden, Holland
- Guate Photo Festival New York Times Exhibition, Guatemala
- International Center of Photography Take Ten Alumni show
- Pop Up Mopla Emerging Photographer, Los Angeles, USA
- Just Another Photo Festival, New Delhi, India
- Photoville, New York Times feature, NYC, USA
- Celeste Familydom Show, Italy
- Look 3 Festival of the Photograph, Virginia, USA
2014
- Visa Pour L’Image Festival projection, Perpignan, France
- Oberstdorf Fotogipfel Festiva, Oberstdorf, Germany
- Obscura Photo Festival, Malaysia
- Angkor Wat Photo Festival, Cambodia
- Valid Photo Gallery, Barcelona, Spain
- 2013 Open Show featured projection of Cancer Family, USA