Kari Orvik is a photographer born in Canada who moved to the Bay Area from Alaska.
Her work in low-income housing inspired her to set up public portrait studios that offer
the service of a formal portrait to participants affected by community
development issues. Displaying these portraits publicly has been a way to recognize
as members of the community everyone who lives, hangs out in or passes through our
public spaces. In 2007 she received an Individual Artist Grant from the San Francisco
Arts Commission for her project Mission Portrait Studio. A graduate of Stanford
University, she has served as a photo mentor in SF Camerawork's First Exposures
youth mentoring program. She will be starting the MFA program at UC Berkeley in Fall 2010.

Born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Lives and works in San Francisco


EDUCATION

Stanford University B.A., 1998

GROUP SHOWS and SCREENINGS

2010

Intersection for the Arts 45th Anniversary Auction, San Francisco
Roll Call - SF Camerawork, San Francisco
Chain Reaction XI - (artist selector), SF Arts Commission Gallery in City Hall
Art in Storefronts - 24th Street Screening, with Martha Rosler and Vero Majano. Curated by Clare Haggarty, sponsored by Triple Base Gallery, San Francisco

2009

Ersatz Group Exhibition, SF Camerawork, San Francisco
Home is Something I Carry With Me, site-specific exhibition curated by Adrienne Skye Roberts, film screening, San Francisco
17 Reasons Why, Mission 17 Gallery, screening and lecture, with author Erick Lyle and community organizer Nick Pagoulatos, San Francisco
Intersection for the Arts Auction, San Francisco

2008

Fabulosa Festival, Mission Portrait Studio, Film Program; Guerneville, CA
Eth6 Magazine: Issue 3, exhibition at Blankspace Gallery, Oakland
Glimpses in Time, juried by Stephen Wirtz at Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland (review and catalog)
Narrating Identity, (Dis)locating Bodies, Galería de la Raza, San Francisco
The Show Starts on the Sidewalk, outdoor screening, part of UC Santa Cruz’s conference “Intervene! Interrupt!: Rethinking Art as Social Practice”
Lecture and Portrait Show, with Dr. Paul Ekman, expert on facial expressions, La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley

2007

The View From Here: rooftop portrait studio, part of Southern Exposure Gallery’s GROUNDED? Juried Public Art Day, San Francisco
Pleased to Meet You: The Beholder Gallery at Tinlark Gallery, Los Angeles
Pleased to Meet You: The Beholder Gallery at Park Life Gallery, San Francisco

2006

Terror?, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco
A Tribute to Grain, Warehouse 1310 Gallery, San Francisco

2005: Introspection: Public vs. Private, Space Gallery, San Francisco

2004: It Can Change, Lucky Tackle, Berkeley

2003

Big Ballyhoo Benefit Auction, The LAB, San Francisco
Synthesis, Melting Point Gallery, San Francisco
Point Blank, Galia, San Francisco

2002

Big Ones, Adobe Books, San Francisco
Back Room Gallery Auction, Adobe Books, San Francisco
Christmas Show, Adobe Books, San Francisco

2001: The Western Show, Studio Z, San Francisco

2000

Photography Show, Ladyfest, Olympia, WA
Ladies’ Art Show, Adobe Books, San Francisco

SOLO SHOWS

2007: Ladies’ Night: Mission Community Council: Outdoor 3-month commission for display at Plaza 16 BART Plaza, San Francisco

2006

Ladies’ Night, Balazo Gallery, San Francisco
1999: Year of the Nun, Java Gallery, San Francisco
Ladies’ Night, Muddy Waters Café at 16th St., San Francisco
One through Ten, Caffe Centro, San Francisco

2004: South Park Residence, Caffe Centro, San Francisco

GRANT

2007: Individual Artist Grant: San Francisco Arts Commission, “Mission Portrait Studio”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SF MOMA’s “Open Space” blog: Public Art and Redevelopment, article by Adrienne Skye Roberts (4/09)
East Bay Express: The Enduring Photograph, review by DeWitt Cheng 8/08
Glimpses in Time: 2008 - An International Juried Photography Exhibition,
hardcover catalog produced by Joyce Gordon Gallery
Greater Good Magazine, Berkeley, CA 2008
Eth6 Magazine, San Francisco, CA, 2008
Masque Magazine, Stanford, CA, 1998
Mind’s Eye Literary Journal, Stanford, CA, 1997

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

SF Camerawork First Exposures Program [2004, 2006-2007]
Photography Mentor – Mentored underserved youth in photography; taught portrait workshop with guest artist Jona Frank for a collaborative project on Identity at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco; completed a city-wide billboard project with students

CURATORIAL

Insights Exhibition of Blind and Visually Impaired Artists [2002-2009]
Directed and curated annual exhibition that brought together works of over 200 blind artists in the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in City Hall. Coordinated exhibition production for the audio description tour, catalog and signage in Braille. Insights 2009 was recognized by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a full-page article in the Sunday New York Times Arts section.

OTHER

2008

Guest Lecturer – Artist Lecture Series
San Francisco State University: Art and Social Practice in El Salvador

Volunteer Photographer – Jochen Gerz exhibit at SF MOMA
Portrait photographer for artist’s project, part of exhibition Participation: 1950 to Present

Volunteer Photographer – Operation Photo Rescue
Retouched damaged family photos for evacuees of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita