Roundtable: I am my own muse

The Executive Director of the International Center of Photography in New York, David Little in conversation with artists Barbara Astman, Michelle Forsyth, and Sondra Meszaros. The group will discuss the trajectory of women in photography over the past century.

Visionary artist Barbara Astman has pioneered feminist conversations and the photographic medium since the 1970s. Her photographic series incorporate narrative elements with humour and stereotype to respond to and transgress the cultural zeitgeist.

The autobiographical work of Michelle Forsyth spans photography, painting, fashion design, sculpture, printmaking and performance. Referring to indelible memories and patterns, her works address the changing relationship with her body after being diagnosed with early Parkinson’s disease. She is currently an Associate Professor of Contemporary Painting Practices at OCAD.

Sondra Meszaros is a multidisciplinary artist disrupting the boundaries of the familiar with provocative and seductive images. Her recent work explores counter-narratives of female sexuality via archival materials. For over two decades she has been teaching drawing at the Alberta University of the Arts in Calgary.

David Little was appointed as Executive Director of the International Center for Photography (ICP) in 2021. Prior to holding this position, he held a number of leadership and curatorial roles at the Mead Museum of Art at Amherst College, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Whitney Museum of American Art, and MoMA. Little holds a PhD in art history from Duke University and an MA at Williams College.