Destiny Mata is a Mexican American photographer and filmmaker based in her native New York City focusing on issues of subculture and community. After studying photojournalism at LaGuardia Community College and San Antonio College, she spent two years as Director of Photography Programs at the Lower Eastside Girls Club. Her photography has been published in The Culture Crush, The Nation, The New York Times, and The Guardian. Mata recently has been awarded the Magnum Foundation Fellowship 2023. She exhibited La Vida En Loisaida: Life on the Lower East Side, a solo exhibition at Photoville Festival 2020. She has taken part in a group exhibition presented by The ARChive of Contemporary Music From Her To Eternity: Women Who Photograph Music at Columbia College Chicago 2023, ICP Concerned Global Images for Global Crisis at the International Center of Photography 2020, Magnum Foundation US Dispatches Grantee 2020, Mexic-Arte Museum, Young Latino Artists 21: Amexican@ 2016 and in 2014 she exhibited photographs of the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy at the Museum of New York City’s, Rising Waters: Photographs of Sandy exhibition. She is currently preparing a series of documentary works continuing her exploration of the fabric of the communities around her.
(In)Visible Guides brings together photographer Destiny Mata and residents of a Lower East Side shelter for domestic violence survivors to explore notions of memory, safety, and loss.
Learn MorePresented by The Lower Eastside Girls Club and Photoville, in partnership with PhotoWings
Recipient of the 2022 Photoville & PhotoWings Educator Exhibition Grant
Senior Saviors showcases portraits that celebrate the spirit and legacy of our elders who are giving back to the Lower East Side community.
Learn MoreTaken between 2009 and 2020, La Vida en Loisaida (Life on the Lower East Side) amplifies the pride of longtime LES residents, in the wake of the neighborhood’s rapid and difficult changes.
Join photographer, community activist, and Lower East Side–native Destiny Mata for an image making walking tour of LES’s Alphabet City! As the popular saying goes, “The best camera in the world is the one that’s with you.” In this hands-on workshop participants learn how to elevate their photos from casual snapshots to frame-worthy personal images using the image making device most accessible to them.
Learn MorePhotographers Destiny Mata and Gogy Esparza discuss their artistic practices and the role New York City plays in shaping their aesthetic perspectives. Moderated by Abrons Arts Center’s Director of Programming, Ali Rosa-Salas.
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