Sheila McLaughlin grew up in Queens, New York in the mid-fifties and graduated from Christ the King High School and LaGuardia Community College (where she finally took a course in photography in her last quarter). Her fascination with taking photographs and working in a darkroom led to her attending the School of Visual Arts and graduating with a BFA.
She moved to Paris, France in 1976 to photograph (with the vast sum of $5,000 and no ability to speak French). She completed a body of work consisting of women walking alone in the dark streets of NY and Paris. Upon returning to New York she spent several years working as a photographer at Sotheby Parke-Bernet interspersed with teaching photography classes.
After moving to San Francisco, CA in 1980 she attended the SF Art Institute where she earned an MFA in photography. This led to more teaching as an adjunct at UC Berkeley Extension, California College of Art, Santa Clara University and later at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR. She continued to work on many photographic projects some of which can be seen on this website.
She currently lives in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco which is the subject of her present project: Neighbors. She awaits acclaim, fame and fortune.
She has been awarded artist in residencies at:
Light Work, Syracuse, New York
Custom House Studios, Westport, Ireland
Awards:
Artist Space Gallery, New York, Grant recipient
Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, Award winner
San Francisco Arts Commission, SNAP, Award winner
Collections:
Biblioteque Nationale
Private Collections
She moved to Paris, France in 1976 to photograph (with the vast sum of $5,000 and no ability to speak French). She completed a body of work consisting of women walking alone in the dark streets of NY and Paris. Upon returning to New York she spent several years working as a photographer at Sotheby Parke-Bernet interspersed with teaching photography classes.
After moving to San Francisco, CA in 1980 she attended the SF Art Institute where she earned an MFA in photography. This led to more teaching as an adjunct at UC Berkeley Extension, California College of Art, Santa Clara University and later at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR. She continued to work on many photographic projects some of which can be seen on this website.
She currently lives in the Western Addition neighborhood of San Francisco which is the subject of her present project: Neighbors. She awaits acclaim, fame and fortune.
She has been awarded artist in residencies at:
Light Work, Syracuse, New York
Custom House Studios, Westport, Ireland
Awards:
Artist Space Gallery, New York, Grant recipient
Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts, Award winner
San Francisco Arts Commission, SNAP, Award winner
Collections:
Biblioteque Nationale
Private Collections