Irma Bohórquez-Geisler 

Irma Bohórquez-Geisler is a photographer, biologist, professor, traditional craftsperson, and cultural leader for Mexican-Americans on Staten Island. She immigrated to New York from Mexico City in 1991. She holds a doctorate in ecological entomology from Oxford University. She is the founder, artistic and program director of the annual Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival. Her photographs were featured in the New York Times in 2016, the 12th Julia Annual Margaret Cameron Award in Barcelona, and the first and second Alice Austen Triennial in 2019. She was awarded the Gabriela Mistral, Julia de Burgos, Frida Kahlo Award in 2017 as a photographer and cultural leader who preserves and promotes Mexican values and cultural heritage for younger generations of Mexican-Americans in New York. In 2011, New York City Councilwoman Debi Rose conferred on Bohórquez-Geisler the Staten Island Women Who Preserve History Award. Her photographs have been exhibited at numerous contemporary art galleries and museums. She has been awarded many grants for her photography, and for presenting Mexican traditions in the community, as well as many museums and schools.

The Alice Austen House

A vibrant cultural center, the Alice Austen House keeps the bold spirit of the early American photographer alive by presenting changing exhibitions of Austen’s pioneering historic photographs as well as contemporary photography, while also providing education programs for students, and offering a range of cultural programs for the public. A Victorian Gothic Cottage that was Austen’s home serves as the museum — located in a nationally-landmarked park on the shore of Staten Island, near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge with sweeping views of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. The Alice Austen House and grounds are owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, operated by the Friends of Alice Austen House Inc. 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and a member of the Historic House Trust. The Alice Austen House is a New York City and national landmark, on the Register of Historic Places, and a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s distinctive group of Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios. In 2017, we updated our designation to become a national site of LGBTQ history.

www.aliceausten.org