Loli Kantor is an Israeli-American photo-artist and documentarian whose work centers on personal, community, and cultural memory. Her works are long-term projects with a depth of content and context.

Kantor's most recent ongoing project, Call Me Lola, surveys an extensive archive of family documents and photographs along with new photo-based work she has been making since 2004. The work is a personal meditation on history, memory and loss rooted in Kantor's own life story.

Previous completed project centered on Jewish presence and cultural renewal in East-Central Europe, focused mostly on Poland and western Ukraine. As a daughter of Holocaust survivors, her work is­ deeply personal yet objectively speaks about current events.  The project was published as a monograph entitled Beyond the Forest, Jewish Presence in Eastern Europe by the University of Texas Press in 2014. This followed on a previously self-published artist’s book from 2009, There Was a Forest: Jewish Life in Eastern Europe Today, 2005-2008.

Kantor is a widely exhibited artist in the United States and internationally. Her work is included in museum collections including The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX), Galicia Jewish Museum (Krakow, Poland), Lishui Museum of Photography (Lishui, China), Lviv National Museum (Lviv, Ukraine).

Kantor’s work has garnered critical acclaim in such publications as The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News, LENSCRATCH, LensWork, as well as Public Radio International. She has been awarded numerous accolades including Top 50 at Critical Mass, Photolucida (2010) and the Award of Excellence at Lishui International Photography Festival (2009).

Kantor was born in Paris, France, and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel.  She immigrated to the United States in 1984 and has since lived in Fort Worth, Texas.

Download Loli Kantor Biography
Download Loli Kantor CV

DOWNLOAD INFORMATION ON TRAVELING EXHIBITION (PDF)

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2018   Koslowe Gallery, Westchester Jewish Center, Westchester, NY
2017   Yiddish Book Center Museum, Amherst, MA
            Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA
2016   Temple Beth El, Fort Worth, TX
            Sol Mednick Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2015   Tarnów Cultural Center, Poland
TCC Gallery, Longview, TX
            MK Gallery, Portland State University, Portland, OR
            Stephen Clark Gallery, Austin, TX
2014   Moudy Gallery, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
            Stage West Theater, Fort Worth, TX
2013   NN Theatre Gallery, Lublin, Poland
2012   Bass Arts Center, Austin, TX
            Art Space 111, Fort Worth, TX
            Bruno Schultz Festival, Great Choral Synagogue, Drohobych, Ukraine
Texas Performing Arts Center, University of Texas at Austin
2011   B. Hollyman Gallery, Austin TX
            Chernihiv Photo Festival, Chernihiv, Ukraine
            PhotoNOLA, Antenna Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Deutser Art Gallery, Houston, TX
2010   FotoFest, Robert I. Kahn Gallery, Temple Emanu El, Houston, TX
L. Nowlin Gallery, Austin, TX
Dutch Kills Gallery, Long Island City, NY
Great Choral Synagogue, Drohobych, Ukraine
2009   Lishui International Photography Festival, Lishui, China
            Hamon Arts Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
Drohobych Museum, Drohobych, Ukraine
2008   Lviv National Museum, Lviv, Ukraine
2006 Bath House Cultural Center, Dallas, TX (toured to Gallery Luzansky, Brno, Czech Republic)
2005 Art Space 111, Fort Worth, TX
2004 Arlington Museum of Art, Arlington, TX (toured to Central Library, Fort Worth, TX)

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2022 Move Against Hate: The Sh’ma Project, Arts Fort Worth Galleries
The Figure (curated by Leah Gose and Penelope Bisbee), Tarrant County College
2020 26th Annual Juried Members’ Exhibition, Juried by Alexa Dilworth, Griffin Museum of Photography
2019 New Photography Collective, Goldmark Cultural Center’s John H. Milde Gallery, Dallas, TX
2016   Photobook Exhibition, Intl. Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
Art in the Box Gallery, Women Show, Prague, Czech Republic
From Generation to Generation, The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA
2015   Alternative Process, Juried by Amy Holmes-George Photoplace Gallery, Vermont
            Portraits, Print Room Gallery, Cleveland, OH
2014   Alt 8 Group Exhibition, Goodrich Gallery, Dallas, TX
2013   William Campbell Contemporary Art, curated by Christopher Blay, Fort Worth, TX
2012   The University of Texas at Arlington, Fort Worth, TX
             Gallery 111, Fort Worth, TX
            Sun and Moon Gallery, Group Alt 8, Dallas, TX
2011   Food, juried by David Bram (Fraction Magazine), The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
           Photo Alchemy, juried by Laura Moya, 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR
           Across the Divide: Critical Mass TOP 50 2010, juried by Todd Hido, Photo Center NW, Seattle, WA
2010   Texas Photographic Society International Competition, juried by Katherine Ware, A Smith Gallery
           Johnson City, TX (Honorable Mention)
            Soho Photo’s Alternative Process Competition, juried by France Scully Osterman and Mar Osterman,
           Soho Photo Gallery, New York, NY
           The Art of Photography Show, juried by Natasha Egan, Lyceum Theatre Gallery, San Diego, CA
            28th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition, juried by Hannah Frieser, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, TX
2009   Dutch Kills Gallery, Long Island City, NY
           The Worldwide Photography Gala Awards Annual Contest Exhibition, Madrid, Spain
            (Honorable Mention for Portraits)           
            The Art of Photography Show, juried by Charlotte Cotton, Lyceum Theatre Gallery, San Diego, CA
            RayKo Photo Center Gallery, juried by Ann Jastrab, San Francisco, CA
            Mind’s Eye, juried by Christopher Rauschenberg, The Center for Fine Art Photography,
            Fort Collins, CO
2008   26th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition, juried by Dr. Alison Nordstrom, Houston Center for
Photography Houston, TX
            Lublin Cultural Center, Lublin, Poland
            RayKo Photo Center Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007   Gallery Luzansky, Brno, Czech Republic
            SPE Multicultural Caucus, CAS Gallery, University of Miami, Miami, FL
            Joyce Elaine Grant National Juried Photography Exhibition, juried byKatherine Ware,
            Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas
            DIA Invitational, juried by Tim Anderson, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO

COLLABORATIONS

2018   Photographic Projections as part of performance of the Hevreh Ensemble, Poland and USA
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw
Galicia Jewish Museum, Jewish Cultural Festival, Krakow
Galleria Labirynt, Lublin   
Daniel Center at Simons Rock, Bard College, Great Barrington, MA                    

2018     Photographic Projections as part of performance by Laura Anderson Barbata

2002 Photographic Projections as backdrop to performance of A Hunger Artist by Hip Pocket Theatre

AWARDS

2014    Best Portfolio, 2014 Bratislava Portfolio Reviews, Slovakia
2012    Exhibition Preparation Grant, Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies,
            The University of Texas at Austin
2011    Artist in Residence Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Vermont, 2011
2010    Top 50, Critical Mass, Photolucida
            Reviewer’s Choice Award, Third Prize, PhotoNOLA
2009    Award of Excellence, Lishui International Photography Festival
            Honorable Mention: People and Figures, The Worldwide Photography Gala Awards Annual
            Exhibition
            Finalist, Critical Mass, Photolucida
2008    Interdisciplinary Initiative Grant, The Meadows School of Art at SMU
            Finalist, Critical Mass, Photolucida
2004    Exhibition Preparation Grant for Heaven on a Biscuit, Texas Commission on the Arts

GUEST LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS

2021 PhotoVisa, Russia (Online)
2020 26th Annual Juried Members’ Exhibition, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA
6-Feet Apart Photographer’s Presentation (Online)
New Photography Collective, Dallas, TX
Portfolio Reviewer, SPESC Portfolio Throwdown, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX
Online Artist Talk, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA (Online)
2019 Dallas Camera Club, Dallas, TX
2018     From Generation to Generation, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA
Koslowe Gallery, Westchester, NY
            Collaborative project with The Hevreh Ensemblein Poland; Galicia Jewish Museum, Jewish Cultural
Festival, Krakow;
                Galleria Labirynt, Lublin; POLIN, Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw
            Collaborative project with The Hevreh Ensemble, Bard College at Simons Rock, Barrington, MA
2017    Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, MA
            Professional Woman Photographers, New York, NY
            Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA
            Limmud Conference for Russian Speaking Jews, London, UK
            Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
2016    Loli Kantor and Frank Lopez, Dallas Center for Photography, Dallas, TX
            Congregation Ahavath Sholom Ladies Axillary Donner Luncheon, Fort Worth, TX
2015    World Affairs Council, Dallas, TX
            Tarnów, Poland, Lecture and meeting with the artist
                Lorry I. Lokey Annual , visiting artist lecture Portland State University, Portland, OR
            Portfolio Reviewer, ISAS Fine Art Festival 2015, Fort Worth Country Day School , TX
            Meadows School of the Arts, visiting artist Southwestern Methodist University
2014    Texas Christian University, Book Launch Lecture
            Palladium Printing Demo, Graduate class of Photography, University of Texas at Arlington
2013    NN Theater, Lublin, Poland, in conjunction with Exhibition at the NN Gallery
            Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX, visiting artist
            Brno Czech Republic, 35 mm Daguerreotype Demo workshop
2012    FotoFest, Houston, guest speaker at Mary Virginia Swanson’s Lecture presentation.
            Lecture title: Signing a Book Contract
            The University of Texas at Arlington, Guest Artist Lecture
            Bruno Shultz Festival, Drohobych, Ukraine
            Country Day School, Fort Worth, TX
2011    Fort Worth Art Institute, Fort Worth, TX
            Documentary Photography Workshop, Kharkiv, Ukraine
            Lecturer and Portfolio reviewer, Chernihiv International Photography Festival, Chernihiv, Ukraine
2010    Jewish Community Center, Austin, TX
            Department of Photojournalism and Photography, The University of Texas at Austin
            Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies at the Harry Ransom Center,
            The University of Texas at Austin
2009    The Art Institute, Dallas, TX
            Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
2008    Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies, University of North Texas, Denton, TX

COLLECTIONS

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
Galicia Jewish Museum, Krakow, Poland
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin
Lishui Museum of Photography, Lishui, China
Lviv National Museum, Lviv, Ukraine
Drohobych / Bruno Schulz Museum, Drohobych, Ukraine
Beit Dan Center, Kharkiv, Ukraine
Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies, The University of Texas at Austin
Robert I. Kahn Gallery at Congregation Emanu El, Houston, TX
The Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
Private collections in the United States and abroad

BOOKS

2017    From Generation to Generation, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA (Group Exhibition Catalog)
2014    Beyond the Forest:  Jewish Presence in Eastern Europe, 2004 - 2012, The University of Texas Press.
2009    There was a Forest, Jewish Life in Eastern Europe Today, 2005-2008, Self-Published (Limited edition of 500)
2004    Heaven on a Biscuit: An Extended Portrait of Hip Pocket Theatre, Arlington Museum of Art, TX (Exhibition Catalog)

SELECTED INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS, APPEARANCES

2020    Member Spotlight, Texas Photographic Society, May 2020
2017   PaknTreger, Magazine of the Yiddish Book Center, Issue no. 75
           The Boston Globe, essay By Mark Feeney, February 24, 2017
           What Will you Rememebr? Immigrants All! Blog by Ellen Spring, February 1, 2017
           Amherst Bulletin, Photo Exhibit looks at Jewish Life in Poland And Ukraine, April 17, 2017 by Steve Pfarrer
           Daily Hampshire Gazette, April 26, 2017 by Steve Pfarrer
2016   Familial Memories become Contemporary Art in the San Francisco Contemporary
              JewishExhibit, by Robert Nagler Miller, Dec 1, 2016
           Congregation Ahavat Shalom, Annual Donors Luncheon Speaker, Fort Worth, TX April 10, 2016
           Dallas Center for Photography, lecture program, guest speaker, March 16, 2016
2015   PhotoEye Book Review by Christopher J Johnson, May 21, 2015
           Elizabeth Avedon BlogSpot, May 20, 2015
           Crusade For The Art, Focal Point, Interview by Jennifer Schwartz , May 18 2015
           The World, Public Radio International, by Alina Simon, March 18, 2015
           Austin American–Statesman, Austin, TX, by Nicole Villalpando, March 14, 2015
           Art and Seek, National Public Radio, KERA-Dallas, by Ann Boswell, January 16, 2015
           Buffalo Almanack, Featured photographer and interview, March 15, 2015
           The New Yorker, by Genevieve Fussell, February 19, 2015
           Dallas Morning News, Guy Reynolds, February 15, 2015
           LensCratch, Featured by Aline Smithson, January 3, 2015
           Jewish Outlook, Austin, TX, by Rebecca Cohen, February 1, 2015
2014    Vasa Project, Vienna, Austria, January, 2014, online gallery
           UT Press, Q&A with Loli Kantor, University of Texas at Austin, December 16, 2014
2012    Fototazo, “The Image:  Loli Kantor,” May 3, online
2011    PDN (Photo District News) Photo of The Day, June 16
2010    Art of Photography Show Catalogue 2009, exhibition catalogue
            LensWork (and LensWork Extended) Issue no. 87, March-April, pp. 58-89
2009    Lishui International Photography Festival Catalogue, exhibition catalogue
            The WPGA Annual 2009:  The Worldwide Photography Gala Awards, exhibition catalogue
            Featured Artist, Virtual Gallery, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA, online
            One World Portfolio Review Catalogue, PhotoAlliance
2008    “A Portrait of Three Artists,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 2
            “Two Artists, Two Backgrounds,” Texas Jewish Post, November 6
            “Second Generation Survivors:  Growing Up With Emotional Fallout,”
            Fort WorthStar-Telegram, April 8, Online

EDUCATION

2001 – Present
Independent Studies - Photography workshops and courses. Studied with: Craig Barber, Richard Doherty, Darius Himes, David Michael Kennedy, Peter Helmes Feresten, Annette
Fournet, Mary Ellen Mark, Leighton McWilliams, Sylvia Plachy, Jan Pohribny Patricia Richards, Mary Virginia Swanson, 

1970-1973
Physiotherapist, Assaf Harofe Hospital, affiliated with Tel Aviv University, Israel.
English Literature, Beer Sheva University, 1969-1970