Peggy Ahwesh (born 1954 in

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania Canonsburg is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, southwest of Pittsburgh. Canonsburg was laid out by Colonel John Canon in 1789 and incorporated in 1802. The population was 9,735 at the 2020 census. The town li ...

) is an American

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

maker and

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting ...

ist. She received her B.F.A. at

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...

. A bricoleur who has created both narrative works and documentaries, some projects are scripted and others incorporate improvised performance. She makes use of sync sound, found footage, digital animation, and

Pixelvision The PXL2000 is a toy camcorder produced by Fisher-Price in 1987. Designed for maximal economy, it records extremely low-resolution monochrome video and audio, all to compact audio cassette. It was on the market for one year with about 400,0 ...

video. Her work is primarily an investigation of cultural identity and the role of the subject in various genres. Her interests include genre; women, sexuality and feminism; reenactment; and artists' books. Her works have been shown worldwide, including in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, New York,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, and Créteil, France. Starting in 1990, she has taught at

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

as a Professor of Film and Electronic Arts. Her teaching interests include: experimental media, history of the non-fiction film, and women in film.

Career

Peggy Ahwesh went to Antioch College, where she became enamored with the works of radical artists and filmmakers like

Paul Sharits Paul Jeffrey Sharits (February 7, 1943, Denver, Colorado—July 8, 1993, Buffalo, New York) was a visual artist, best known for his work in experimental, or avant-garde filmmaking, particularly what became known as the structural film movement, ...

, Tony Conrad,

Carolee Schneeman Carolee Schneemann (October 12, 1939 – March 6, 2019) was an American visual artist, visual experimental artist, known for her multi-media works on the body, narrative, human sexuality, sexuality and gender. She received a Bachelor of Arts, B.A ...

and

Joyce Wieland Joyce Wieland (June 30, 1930 – June 27, 1998) was a Canadian experimental filmmaker and mixed media artist. Wieland found success as a painter when she began her career in Toronto in the 1950s. In 1962, Wieland moved to New York City and ...

. After college, she returned to her hometown of Cannonsburg, where she began her film career working on

Super 8 film Super 8 mm film is a motion-picture film format released in 1965 by Eastman Kodak as an improvement over the older "Double" or "Regular" 8 mm home movie format. The film is nominally 8 mm wide, the same as older formatted ...

. She thought Cannonsburg was a small industrial town that offered a freeing artistic feel. During the 1970s, she became involved with the local punk rock scene, and would create short films with her friends documenting the punk bands. Following this, she began working at

The Mattress Factory The Mattress Factory is a contemporary art museum located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was a pioneer of site-specific installation art and features permanent installations by artists Yayoi Kusama, James Turrell, and Greer Lankton. The museum ...

—a large art warehouse in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

—where she began her own film series. One of her first guests was filmmaker

George A. Romero George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...

. She began to show his work locally and befriended Romero's crew. By 1982, she began to work her way into the industry as a production assistant on feature films on Romero's films. There, she met good friends Natalka Voslakov and

Maggie Strosser Maggie is a common short form of the name Magdalena, Magnolia, Margaret. Maggie may refer to: People Women * Maggie Adamson, Scottish musician * Maggie Aderin-Pocock (born 1968), British scientist * Maggie Alderson (born 1959), Aust ...

. Ahwesh claims Romero to be a huge influence on her as he was knowledgeable on race, gender, and independent films. Soon, Ahwesh joined

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Pittsburgh Filmmakers was one of the oldest and largest media arts centers in the United States, operating from 1971 to 2019. The non-profit institution in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania began as a filmmaking equipment access cooperative founded by cur ...

as a programmer. She also wrote grants and collaborated with local clubs and the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. In 1980, Ahwesh did a big group show of local filmmakers. She liked the idea of group shows because they got everybody involved. By 1983, she created what is known as

The Pittsburgh Trilogy ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

—three films made back to back that documented the lives of her friends during the summer of 1983. Ahwesh claims the three films:

Verite Opera Verite may refer to: * Vérité (born 1990), American pop singer * Verité Research, an independent interdisciplinary think tank * Verite Film Festival (Kashmir), an Indian film festival * Verite (''Dune''), a fictional drug from Frank Herbert's ...

(1983), Paranormal Intelligence (1983), and Nostalgia for Paradise (1983) are not diary films, narratives or documentaries but rather "portraits" of her friends. The three films helped explore Ahwesh's interest in her friends and helped answer the questions of what kind of relationship does one have with a person, what kind of relationship does the camera have with a person, how do you shoot positive and negative space and what is it about people that makes them interesting? Ahwesh was not aware that she had copied the name for the trilogy from another experimental filmmaker,

Stan Brakhage James Stanley Brakhage ( ; January 14, 1933 – March 9, 2003) was an American filmmaker. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th-century experimental film. Over the course of five decades, Brakhage created a large ...

. In 1990, she received recognition for her film ''The Deadman'' (1990) due to her use of 16mm opposed to her favored Super 8. In 2001, Ahwesh took her art to another level by using footage from the game

Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, ...

in her experimental piece ''She Puppet'' (2001), which explored female identity and the evolution of technology. In 1990, she began teaching at Bard College. Currently, she is Professor Emeritus of Film and Electronic Art while pursuing her own projects.

Awards

* Bard College Research Grant (2002) *

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has commi ...

(2002) * Alpert Award in the Arts, Cal Arts/Alpert Foundation (2000) * New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), Video Fellowship (2000) * New York Foundation for the Arts (NYSCA), Film/Video Fellowship (1993) (2002) * New York Foundation for the Arts (NYSCA), Distribution Grant (1992) (1999) * Guggenheim Foundation, Fellowship (1996) * Jerome Foundation, Film Project Award (1990) (1998) * Art Matters (1992) (1995)

Selected filmography

* Bethlehem (2009) 8 minutes, color, video * The Third Body (2008) 9 min, color, video * Warm Objects (2007) 5 min, color, video * Beirut Outtakes (2007) 7 min, video * Dedication (2006) 4 min, color, video * Certain Women, with Bobby Abate, (2004) 72 min, video * The Star Eaters (2003), 24 min, video * She Puppet (2001), 15 min, color, video * Heaven's Gate (2000–01), 3:53 min, b&w, video * 73 Suspect Words & Heaven's Gate (1999–2000) 8 min, video * Nocturne (1998) 30 min, b&w, 16 mm film * The Vision Machine (1997), 20 min, b&w and color, 16 mm film * Magnetism, Attraction and Repulsion, Deep Sleep, Auto Suggestion, Animal Magnetism, Mesmerism, and Fascination (1996), 16 min, color, video * Trick Film (1996), 5 min, 16mm film * The Color of Love (1994), 10 min, color, sound, 16 mm film * The Scary Movie (1993), 9 min, b&w, sound, 16 mm film * Strange Weather, with Margie Strosser, (1993) 50 min, video, b&w * Martina's Playhouse (1989), 20 min, color, sound, Super 8 film * The Deadman, with Keith Sanborn, (1990), 39 min, b&w, 16 mm film * I Ride a Pony Named Flame (1988) 5 min, video * Philosophy in the Bedroom (1987) 10 min, Super 8 film * From Romance to Ritual (1985) 10 min, Super 8 film * The Fragments Project (1985–1995), 50 min, color, sound, Super 8 film * Ode to the New Pre-History (1984–1987) 25 min, Super 8 film * Pittsburgh Trilogy (1983) 50 min, Super 8 film

Selected screenings and exhibitions

* 2021: One Person Shows *
Vision Machines
Spike Island, Bristol, UK * 2019: One Person Shows *
Cleave

Microscope Gallery Microscope Gallery is a contemporary art gallery located at 525 West 29th Street, New York, NY 10001. It was founded by artists and curators Elle Burchill and Andrea Monti and opened in September 2010 in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY. The gallery specializ ...

, Brooklyn, NY * 2014-2015: One Person Shows *
Kissing Point
Microscope Gallery, Brooklyn, NY * 2006: One Person Shows **

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia Museo may refer to: * Museo, 2018 Mexican drama heist film *Museo (Naples Metro) Museo is a station on line 1 of the Naples Metro. It was opened on 5 April 2001 as the eastern terminus of the section of the line between Vanvitelli and Museo. ...

; Madrid, Spain (retrospective) **

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

; Beirut, Lebanon **

Anthology Film Archives Anthology Film Archives is an international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of film and video, with a particular focus on independent, experimental, and avant-garde cinema.Fundació Antoni Tàpies The Fundació Antoni Tàpies (, 'Antoni Tàpies Foundation') is a cultural center and museum, located in Carrer d'Aragó, in Barcelona, Catalonia. It is dedicated mainly to the life and works of the painter Antoni Tàpies. The Fundació was crea ...

; Barcelona, Spain ** The Württembergischer Kunstverein; Stuttgart, Germany ** IAMNOWHERE, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College; Annandale, NY ** "The Imagination of Disaster", Ocularis; Brooklyn, NY **

Silverlake Film Festival {{unreferenced, date=July 2009 Silver Lake Film Festival ran from 2000 to 2007. It was a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization established to provide a showcase for cutting-edge independent film, music, digital, and other arts in Los Angeles, Califor ...

: MP4 Fest, Los Angeles, CA ** Copilandia: una Isla Libre de Propiedad Intellectual, Seville, Spain (traveled) ** "Art as a Form of Conversation", Dashanzi Arts Festival, Beijing, China (traveled) ** Centre de Cultura Contemporania, Barcelona, Spain ** "Games People Play",

Pacific Film Archive The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director from ...

, Berkeley, CA ** Foundation for Art, Culture & Technology, Liverpool, UK ** "Breaking the Game", www.workspace-unlimited.org (on-line symposium) * 2005. One Person Shows **

Wisconsin Film Festival The Wisconsin Film Festival is an annual film festival, founded in 1999. The festival is held every April in Madison, Wisconsin, and has recently been expanded from five days to eights days. The Festival presents a broad range of independent Ameri ...

; Madison, WI (retrospective) ** femme totale; Dortmund, Germany (screening & panel) ** University of Chicago, Film Studies Center; Chicago, Il * 2005. Selected Festivals. Group Shows **

Pompidou Center The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

; Paris, France MIX: NY ** Lesbian & Gay Experimental Film Festival; NY, NY ** "Jerome, Hill & Foundation", MoMA; NY, NY (screening & panel) ** The Childhood Show, Magic Lantern Cinema; Providence, RI ** "Brides of Frankenstein",

San Jose Museum of Art The San José Museum of Art (SJMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum in downtown San Jose, California, United States. Founded in 1969, the museum holds a permanent collection with an emphasis on West Coast artists of the 20th and 21st centur ...

; San Jose, CA * 2004. One Person Shows **

Rotterdam International Film Festival The International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental fi ...

; Rotterdam, The Netherlands ** The Museum of Modern Art, Mediascope; New York, NY **

New York Underground Film Festival The New York Underground Film Festival was an annual event that occurred each March at Anthology Film Archives in New York City from 1994 through 2008 founded by filmmakers Todd Phillips ('' Road Trip'', '' Old School'') and Andrew Gurland. After P ...

; New York, NY (traveled) ** Institute for Studies in the Arts, ASU; Tempe, Arizona ** "Videos by Peggy Ahwesh", Terrorvision Show, Exit Art; New York, NY ** Redcat Theater, California Institute for the Arts; Valencia, CA (residency) **

Chicago Underground Film Festival Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF), founded in 1993, is the longest running underground film festival in the world. It's an internationally recognized program providing a venue for documentary, experimental and avant-garde narrative film and ...

; Chicago, IL ** Brighton Cinematheque; Brighton, UK ** Zinebi 46 Festival; Bilbao, Spain ** Cinematexas 10; Austin, TX ** Union Theater, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Milwaukee, WI * 2004. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** "Visions of Excess" Press Play Video,

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

; Pittsburgh, PA ** "The Walking Picture Palace", Anthology Film Archives; NY, NY ** New York Video Festival;

Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society of Lincoln Center until 2019,Aridi, Sara (April 28, 2019).. ''The New York Times''. nytimes.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019. is a film society based in New York City, United States. Fo ...

; New York, NY ** European Media Arts Festival; Osnabruck, Germany ** "Acting Out", York University; Toronto, Canada ** Festival of Contemporary Arts: City of Women; Ljubljana, Slovenia ** "Lookalike: Barbie Lolita Lara Croft", Nederlands Fotomuseum; Amsterdam, The Netherlands * 2003. One Person Shows ** Mills College Art Museum, Contemporary Exhibitions; Oakland, CA ** Pixil This 12; LA, CA Princeton University; Princeton, NJ **

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

; Binghamton, NY * 2003. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** Image Forum Festival; Tokyo, Japan (traveled) ** Russian National Contemporary Art Center, Experimental Videos from US; Moscow, Russia (traveled) ** "I Wonder About You and Through You: Women Respond to Technology with Wonder and Caution"; Portland, OR **

Bellevue Arts Museum The Bellevue Arts Museum is a museum of contemporary visual art, craft, and design located in Bellevue, Washington, part of the greater Seattle metropolitan area. A nonprofit organization established in 1975, the Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM) provide ...

; Seattle, WA ** Moscow International Film Fest; Russia (traveled) ** MoMA, Stand-by retrospective program; NY ** Fundacio Antoni Tàpies, "Stitch and Split: Selves and Territories in Science Fiction"; Barcelona, Spain ** "Mirror, Mirror", Surrey Institute of Art & Design; London, UK * 2002. One Person Shows ** "Sandbox Antics, Tantrums, and Tourist Attractions", Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Carnegie Mellon University; Pittsburgh, PA (retrospective) ** New Collaborations: Electronic Intersections, Institute for Electronic Arts, School of Art and Design, Alfred University; Alfred, NY (conference) * 2002. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** 2002 Biennial Exhibition,

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–194 ...

, NY **

; Rotterdam, The Netherlands ** Image Forum Festival; Tokyo, Japan (traveled) ** Animations, P.S.1/MoMA; Queens, NY (traveled Kunst Werke Berlin) ** Electromediascope,

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of Asian art. In 2007, ''Time'' magaz ...

, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art; Kansas City, MO ** Dangerous Beauty: The Videos, Jewish Community Center; NY ** Verbindingen/Jonctions Festival 6; Brussels, Belgium ** Machine Love, Vidarte 2002 International Festival; Mexico City, Mexico ** FILMS THAT RISE TO THE SURFACE (OF CLARIFIED BUTTER); Balagan, Boston ** "Catastrophe & Spectacle", Oberhausen Film Festival; Oberhausen, Germany * 2001. One Person Shows ** California Institute for the Arts; Valencia, CA (screenings/residency) ** Sam Spiegel Film School; Jerusalem, Israel (screenings/residency) ** The Jerusalem Cinematheque; Jerusalem, Israel ** Women Direct,

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

; Ithaca, NY (screening & conference) ** "All the Girls with Cameras in Their Heads", Cinematexas 6; Austin, TX (retrospective) * 2001. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** Laracroft:ism, On Female Heroines, Nomads and Residents panel; NY ** "Imitation of Kiss", Warhol Museum; Pittsburgh, PA (traveled) ** Three Women from Brooklyn, Ocularis; Brooklyn, NY ** New York Video Festival, Film Society of Lincoln Center; NY ** Pandaemonium: Festival of the Moving Image; London, UK (traveled) ** Some Kind of Loving, Joanie4Jackie (curator Astria Suparak) (traveled) ** The Stained Handkerchief, Maastricht; The Netherlands (traveled) ** To Make it Better Every Time: Internal Security; Munich, Germany (traveled) ** "All is Fair in Love and War"; Amsterdam, The Netherlands (traveled) * 2000. One Person Shows ** The Flaherty Seminar, International Film Seminars, NY (curator Kathy Geritz) ** The American Century: Art & Culture (1950–2000), Whitney Museum of American Art; New York, NY * 2000. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** The End: An Independent View of Contemporary Culture ('82-'00),Exit Art; NY ** Science is Fiction: The Films of Jean Painleve, MoMA; NY ** "The Color of Ritual, The Color of Thought", Whitney Museum of American Art; NY ** World Wide Video Festival; Amsterdam, The Netherlands ** DUMBO Arts Festival; Brooklyn, NY Cinematexas 5, Austin, TX ** The Trinity Show, Ocularis; Brooklyn, NY (curator Jim Browne) * 1999. One Person Shows ** The Guggenheim Museum; NY (lecture) LUX Cinema; London, England (retrospective) ** Warhol's Grave, The Balie Theater; Amsterdam, The Netherlands ** The Grand Illusion Cinema/Wiggly World; Seattle, WA ** Yerba Buena Center for the Arts; SF, CA (residency/retrospective) ** Splice This!, S8mm Film Festival; Toronto, Canada (retrospective) ** Three by Peggy Ahwesh, Anthology Film Archives; NY ** Nocturne and What!, Pacific Film Archive; Berkeley, CA ** Criminal Sexuality: The Films of Peggy Ahwesh, Pacific Cinematheque; Vancouver, Canada (retrospective) * 1999. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** Rotterdam International Film Festival; The Netherlands ** European Media Art Festival; Osnabruck, Germany ** GirlsKnifeTheoryGore, Cornershop; Buffalo, NY ** Dark Shadows: Recent Avant-Garde Films, Chicago Filmmakers; Chicago, IL * 1998. One Person Shows ** S8mm Films by Peggy Ahwesh, MoMA; NY ** The Secret Charts, Jonctions Festival; Brussels, Belgium (installation w Amy Sillman) ** Girls Beware! (reprise), Jonctions Festival 2; Brussels, Belgium * 1998. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** Big As Life: An American History of 8mm Films, MoMA; NY ** Pandaemonium: Festival of the Moving Image; London, England ** Lo-Fi Baroque, Threadwaxing Space; New York, NY ** Reel New York, WNET/Ch13 TV; New York, NY ** MadCat Women's Film Festival; San Francisco, CA ** New York Film Festival, Film Society of Lincoln Center; NY (traveled) * 1997. One Person Shows ** Girls Beware!, New American Film & Video Series, Whitney Museum of American Art; NY (retrospective) ** Subtle Subversions: The Films of Peggy Ahwesh, Chicago Filmmakers; Chicago, IL ** Low Tech, Museu d'Art Contemporani Barcelona; Barcelona, Spain * 1997. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** Gothic: Transmutations of Horror in Late 20th Century Art, ICA; Boston, MA (traveled) ** MIX '97: NY Lesbian and Gay Experimental Film Festival; NY ** MIX '97: Mexico and MIX '97: Brazil (traveled) ** Kybernetes: Encuentro de Video y Electronicas; Bogotá, Colombia * 1996. One Person Shows ** Vermont College, MFA Program; Montpelier, VT (visiting artist) ** Cinema Studies Program, NYU; New York, NY ** Open Zone: Interactive Phenomena & Quicktime; Barcelona, Spain (traveled) * 1996. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** Korper Und Sexualitat, deutsches filmmuseum; Frankfurt, Germany ** Cine Club at Anthology Film Archive; NY ** Danish Workshop Film Festival; Copenhagen, Denmark ** Slacker Attitude, London Electronic Arts; London, England (traveled) ** A Tribute to Squat Theater, Artists' Space; NY ** 1995 Whitney Biennial Exhibition; NY (traveled) ** Statens Museum for Kunst; Copenhagen, Denmark * 1995. One Person Shows ** University of South Florida; Tampa, FL (visiting artist) ** The Films of Peggy Ahwesh, Pacific Film Archives; Berkeley, CA ** Odd and Original: Sexploitation Films by Doris Wishman, Roxy Theater & the Other Cinema; San Francisco, CA (curator) * 1995. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** More Hysteria, Please!, Columbia University; NY ** (Lacanian Ink) Festival International du Nouveau Cinema et de la Video; Montreal, Canada ** Coming to Power: Xperimental Films by Women, Film Makers' Co-op; NY (traveled) ** San Francisco International Film Festival; San Francisco, CA ** 1995 Biennial Exhibition, Whitney Museum of American Art; NY (traveled) ** Wellington and Auckland International Film Festivals; New Zealand * 1994. One Person Shows ** Harvard Film Archive, Carpenter Center for the Arts; Cambridge, MA (retrospective) ** American Museum of the Moving Image; Queens, NY ** Anthology Film Archives; New York, NY ** World Wide Video Festival; The Hague, The Netherlands * 1994. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** Bad Girls, The New Museum; NY (w The Scary Movie) ** "Pixilvision: The Philosophical Toy", 3rd NY Video Festival; NY ** American Film Institute Video Festival; Los Angeles, CA ** Impakt Festival; Utrecht, The Netherlands ** Ex-Post Factory: After Warhol, Pacific Film Archive; Berkeley, CA ** Festival of Independents; Philadelphia ** PA MIX 94: NY Gay & Lesbian Experimental Film Festival; NY MIX '94 Brazil: Festival das Manifestacoes da Sexualidade, Brazil (traveled) ** Museum of Sound and Image; São Paulo, Brazil (traveled) ** Man Trouble, Exit Art; NY (curator Jason Simon) ** American Independence, Institute for Contemporary Art; London, England ** X-Rated Films by Women, Films Charas; New York * 1993. One Person Shows ** Video Premiers, Museum of Modern Art; NY (w Margie Strosser) ** Juger und Sammler: Die Neuen Nomaden, Eiszeit Kino; Berlin, Germany ** Strange Paradises, The Cinematheque; San Francisco, CA ** The Opium Den at The Pleasure Dome at Cine Cycle; Toronto, Canada * 1993. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** New Directions in American AG (1981–91), London Film Co-op; England (traveled) ** Coming to Power: Xplicit Films by Women, David Zwerner Gallery; NY (traveled) ** Dallas Video Festival; Dallas, Texas ** Picturing Ritual, Center for Photography at Woodstock; Woodstock, NY * 1992. One Person Shows ** Sarah Lawrence College; Bronxville, NY sex/POSITIVE; Philadelphia, PA (conference/screening) ** University of Florida, a Critical Art Ensemble project; Tallahassee, FL ** Coming Soon, American Culture & Popular Culture Associations Annual Conference; Louisville, KY (w Keith Sanborn) * 1992. Selected Festivals . Group Shows ** Flaming and Other Creatures, Harvard Film Archive; Cambridge, MA ** Through Her Eyes: Women in Film and Video, The Learning Channel Eros and Thanatos, Woodstock Guild; Woodstock, NY ** The Travel and Leisure Show, 4 Walls; Brooklyn, NY * 1991. One Person Shows ** The Wexner Center; Columbus, OH Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center; Buffalo, NY * 1991. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** 1991 Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art; NY (traveled) ** "Return of Visual Pleasure", Whitney Museum of American Art; NY ** Films de Femmes Fest International de CrÈteil et du Marne; Creteil, France ** Ars Electronica Video Festival; Linz, Austria ** Reframing the Family, Artists Space; New York, NY ** Melbourne & Sidney International Film Festivals; Australia ** Al-Ismailiyah International Film Festival; Al-Ismailiyah, Egypt ** Pearls Before Swine, Eiszeit Kino; Berlin, Germany ** Nucleo dos Cineasates Independentes; Lisbon and O Porto, Portugal * 1990. One Person Shows ** Cineprobe, MoMA; NY ** The Carnegie Museum of Art; Pittsburgh, PA ** The Pittsburgh Filmmakers; Pittsburgh, PA ** In Bataille's Dark Chamber, The Collective for Living Cinema; NY (w Keith Sanborn) ** "Child", Kitchen Center for Video, Music & Performance; NY (panel/screening) ** Image Film and Video Center; Atlanta, GA ** Anti-Censorship Fest, Coalition for Freedom of Expression; Berkeley, CA ** The London International Film Festival; London, England ** The Pleasure Dome; Toronto, Canada * 1990. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** Image World, Whitney Museum of American Art; NY ** A Passage Illuminated: American A/G Film 1980–90; Amsterdam, The Netherlands ** Festival de Nouveau Cinema; Montreal, ** Canada Independent Focus, WNET/CH 13; NY, NY ** Are You Now or Have You Ever Been. . ., Film in the Cities; Minneapolis, MN ** Opaque Projections: Childhood & Memory, LACE; Los Angeles, CA ** Sexual Politics: The Cutting Edge, Dartmouth College; Hanover, NH * 1989. One Person Shows ** In Bataille's Dark Chamber, Small Press Distribution Center; Berkeley (w Keith Sanborn) ** Old & New Masters of Super 8, Anthology Film Archives; NY ** The Collective for Living Cinema; New York Massachusetts College of Art; Boston, MA * 1989. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** The Politics & Poetics of Sexuality, Feminism & Reproductive Freedom, Hall ** walls Breaking the Fall, Collective for Living Cinema; New York (curator Mark McElhatten) ** "The Body & Other Tales of Joy & Woe", Critical Art Ensemble Media Festival; Tallahassee, FL * 1987. One Person Shows ** Film Forum; Los Angeles, CA ** The Cinematheque; San Francisco, CA ** Super 8mm: The Last Frontier,

Currier Gallery of Art The Currier Museum of Art is an art museum in Manchester, New Hampshire, in the United States. It features European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture. The permanent collection includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Mo ...

; Manchester, NH * 1987. Selected Festivals. Group Shows ** Infermental: A Video Magazine; Buffalo, NY (curators Chris Hill & Peter Weibel) (traveled) ** Independent America,

American Museum of the Moving Image The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios (now Kaufman Astoria Studios), in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the Amer ...

; Queens, NY ** Speculum of the Other Woman, The Other Cinema; SF, CA ** Ann Arbor Super 8mm Film Festival; Ann Arbor, MI Super 8 Solar System, Artists Space; NY * 1984. One Person Shows ** Women's Caucus for Art, National Conference; Boston, MA ** Super 8 Motel, The Kitchen Center; NY Women in Film, William Penn Museum; Harrisburg, PA ** Eiszeit Kino; Berlin, Germany * 1984: Selected Festivals-Group Shows ** Ironic Naturalism, Hallwalls; Buffalo, NY (screening/panel)

Selected bibliography

* Ahwesh, Peggy. "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." Film Comment 37 (July/August 2001) p 77. * Arthur, Paul. "Bodies, Language and the Impeachment of Vision: American Avant-garde Film at 50" Persistence of Vision No. 11 (1995) CUNY * Blaetz, Robin, ed. Women's Experimental Cinema: Critical Frameworks. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008 * Dargis, Manohla. "On The Deadman." Artforum, 28 (May 1990) pp. 29–30. * Gangitano, Lia. "Warhol's Grave", In Steve Reinke and Tom Taylor, ed. LUX: A Decade of Artists Film and Video. XYZ Books, Toronto (2000) pp. 306–11. * Gorfinkel, Elena. "Arousal in Ruins: ''The Color of Love'' and the Haptic Object of Film History." ''World Picture 4''. Spring 2010. * Griffin, Tim. "Bury the Lead", World Art, no. 16 (1998) pp. 22 – 25. * Gunning, Tom "Towards a Minor Cinema: Fonoroff, Herwitz, Ahwesh, Klahr, Lapore and Solomon" Motion Picture 3 (winter 89–90) pp 2–5. * Handelman, Michelle. "Women's Studies" Filmmaker Magazine (Winter 2002) p 12. * Hoberman, J. "Attack of the Mutants." The Village Voice 14 Mar. 2000: 115 * Iles, Chrissie "Biennial 2002 Exhibition Catalogue", Whitney Museum of American Art * Jones, Kristin M. "Ahwesh at the Whitney." Artforum 36 (Nov 1997) pp. 118–119. * Lewis, Jon, ed. The New American Cinema. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1998: 353-78 * Marks, Laura U. "Loving a Disappearing Image" Cinéma et Mélancolie Vol 8, no. 1–2, Québec (1999), pp 93–111. * MacDonald, Scott, A Critical Cinema 5: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers, University of California Press, 2006. * Russell, Catherine. "Culture as Fiction: The Ethnographic Impulse in the Films of Peggy Ahwesh, Su Friedrich, and Leslie Thornton." In Jon Lewis, ed. The New American Cinema. Durham & London: Duke University Press (1998) pp. 353–78. * Smith, Gavin. "The Way of All Flesh." Film Comment 31 (July/August 1995) p. 18. Taubin, Amy. "Women on Top" The Village Voice (August 5, 1997) p. 74. * Wees, William C. "The Color of Love and the Recycling of Pornography by Avant-Garde Filmmakers" FSAC Conference, Université Laval, May 2001. conference paper. * Wees, William C. "Peggy's Playhouse: Contesting the Modernist Paradigm", Women's Experimental Cinema: Critical Frameworks, Ed. Robin Blaetz, Duke University Press, 2006.

Career

Awards

Selected filmography

Selected screenings and exhibitions

Selected bibliography

Notes

References

External links