Karen I. Hirsch Photo Chosen for Exhibit at the Chicago Cultural Center

Jan. 24, 2011 - PRLog -- The Artist reception for the exhibit takes place on Friday, February 25th from 4:00 - 6:00 PM.  Location of the exhibit is 78 E. Washington Street in Chicago in the Renaissance Gallery.  

"A Spot of Jazz" is part of Hirsch's photo series of musicians.  This image is a blend of a brightly colored abstract painting that Hirsch created digitally and a photo of a saxophone player that she took at the 2010 Chicago Jazz Festival. Hirsch expresses the feeling of the music via her photo interpretation.  

A Chicago native, Hirsch is not new to exhibiting her work in her home city.   Her photography was included in  "the Millennium Project" show, a one year exhibit at the international pavilion at O'Hare Airport.  She was the principal artist of "The Other Boat Show" at the Flatfile art gallery where she showed her renowned sailboat racing photos.  In 2003, the Department of Cultural Affairs invited her to have a one-woman show, "My Chicago," at the Richard J. Daley Civic Center where she displayed more than 200 of her photos of Chicago's people, places and events. The exhibit was supported in part by the Illinois Arts Council.

Hirsch's notoriety is not confined to Chicago. Her photography has won honors internationally including competitions in Paris and London. Her images have been published in books, magazines and calendars.

In 2007, the government of China invited Hirsch to be one of ten foreign photographers to photograph the city of Rizhao.  The photos were used for tourism and to attract businesses to the region.

Hirsch first learned photography when she lived in France while studying at the University of Rouen.  She joined a photo club in Rouen where she was introduced to darkroom printing.  After receiving a Fulbright travel grant to study and teach at the University of Barcelona in Spain, Hirsch joined an international atelier in Barcelona to continue her photo studies.

After graduate school, Hirsch began a career in advertising.  She spent a number of years as in-house photographer and magazine editor for the Chicago office of Foote, Cone & Belding, one of the world's premier advertising agencies. Since then, she has run her own photography business.

In 2009-2010, Hirsch served as president of Fort Dearborn-Chicago Photo Forum, an historical, 115 year old organization which promotes photographic education and creativity.  Located in the south Loop, it opens its doors to the public for its regular Friday night meetings.  It is a member of the Chicago Area Camera Club Association which organized the exhibit at the Cultural Center.
Fort Dearborn's website:  http://www.chicagophotoforum.org  

Gallery hours for "The World as Seen by Chicagoland Photographers:"
   Monday-Thursday  8 AM to 7 PM
   Friday   8 AM to 6 PM
   Saturday  9 AM to 6 PM
   Sunday  10 AM to 5 PM

This exhibit is running concurrently with the "Finding Vivian Maier Chicago Street Photographer" exhibit.

To see more photos by Karen I. HIrsch, visit her website and blog at http://www.karenihirsch.com

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Karen I. Hirsch is an award-winning professional commercial, editorial and fine art photographer based in Chicago. Her photos have been published internationally in books, magazines, newspapers, calendars and online.