Course Description
In the fall of 2026, the United States will enter a pivotal midterm election season. Questions surrounding democracy, power, identity, labor, migration, climate change, and public life continue to shape our everyday lives. Corporate media consolidation, misinformation, and the rapid rise of artificial intelligence are transforming how information is produced, distributed, and understood. In this environment, using photography as an act of bearing witness seems more vital than ever. This course approaches documentary practice as a form of engagement with the political, cultural, and social realities of contemporary life. We will discuss how photographs can create records, amplify overlooked voices, challenge dominant narratives. Over ten weeks, students will identify a subject, investigate it in depth, and develop a body of work through ongoing feedback and critique. Alongside photographic approaches, the course addresses the logistics, safety, and ethics of working in the field, as well as traditional and experimental methods for distributing work. Students are introduced to historical and contemporary photographers while developing their own visual voice through sustained inquiry, critical thinking, and engagement with the world around them. Students of all levels are welcome.
Instructor
Dylan Yarbrough is a documentary photographer based in Chicago and recipient of the 2022–23 Diane Dammeyer Fellowship, the 2020–23 CPS Lives Fellowship, and the 2019 Stuart Abelson Fellowship. His photographs are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Center for Creative Photography, and others. He has taught photography at the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, and Lake Forest College, and his work has been exhibited at the Cleve Carney Museum of Art, the Historic Arkansas Museum, and the Center for Creative Photography.
DEtails
1821 W Hubbard St, Suite 207. Chicago, IL 60622
September 13th - November 18th
Sunday Afternoons
3:00 - 6:00 PM
Requirements
Digital DSLR
Laptop
Adobe Lightroom