Ann Rosen - Being Seen: A Documentary

Join us at Soho Photo Gallery for a Speaker Series evening with photographer Ann Rosen, as she shares images from her current Being Seen solo show, and screens a short documentary film from her project, focusing on art to empower women from marginalized communities, helping to restore agency, confidence, and connection.

Initiated by Ann and Alice Braziller, the Being Seen project weaves together writing and visual art created by women, many of whom have been impacted by the criminal justice system or military service.

Project co-creator Alice Braziller and the film’s director Julia O’Farrow will be on hand for the screening, and for a question-and-answer period. Refreshments will be served.

The documentary film Being Seen explores the collaborative arts initiative Ann Rosen created with Alice Braziller, centering on women reclaiming their visibility and self-worth through creative expression. The project grew out of a deep belief in the power of art to restore agency—especially when women from marginalized communities are silenced or reduced by larger political and social forces.

The work began in Brooklyn women’s shelters, where Ann taught art and photography while Alice taught writing. Participants created artworks, poems, autobiographies, and collaborative portraits. The workshops evolved, and so, did the process—eventually weaving writing and visual art together in a shared creative space. This approach led to an ongoing partnership with HousingPlus, a nonprofit agency providing comprehensive services and housing for women impacted by the criminal justice system and military service.

For more than four decades, photographer Ann Rosen has explored portraiture as a means of revealing the humanity and complexity of her subjects. Her work moves between documentary practice and collaborative storytelling, often focusing on communities whose experiences are overlooked or misrepresented in mainstream visual culture.

Rosen currently conducts workshops with women who have experienced homelessness, addiction, incarceration, military service, or displacement, inviting them to actively shape how they are represented.

For each workshop, Rosen creates a portable studio with lights and backdrops. Participants determine how they want to be seen—choosing poses, props, and settings that affirm their identities and aspirations. They learn to take and print their own images, which they incorporate into visual journals and collages. These moments often spark powerful self-recognition. As one participant told Ann, “Learning photography and new art techniques has helped me connect with myself and the world around me. It’s grounding.”

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