Recent Ringling College of Art and Design grad Jesse Clark ’23, Photography and Imaging, is already experiencing tremendous success as he steps into the professional world. It should come as no surprise, as Clark was the 2023 Trustee Scholar for Photography and Imaging and the 2023 Best of Ringling President’s Award recipient.

His work has been featured in Photovogue, with his photo The Space Between chosen as Best of Photovogue 2023. His photograph, Black Boy America, was included in an article from the July 4, 2023 issue of Cultured Mag. 

His work will be included in the upcoming Creative Quarterly 72, along with fellow alum Mikenna Bowers ’23, Photography and Imaging, and Lensculture chose Clark for their “Editor’s Pick” for their Emerging Talent Award. 

Finally, Clark’s senior thesis, To Sting Like A Bee, was shortlisted and then selected as the winner for the Global Design Graduate Show. Only 500 artists were shortlisted out of 5,000 submissions.

Clark describes his work as vibrant and poetic, with soft visualizations of Black identity and beauty. He is interested in combating outdated perceptions and misrepresentations of Blackness within the media. Clark’s photography has been exhibited in SPAACES Gallery, Art Center Sarasota, and Mara Studio and Gallery. In addition to the mentions above, he has been featured by Sarasota Magazine, WEDU-PBS, and Stories To Change The World–International Activist Collection.

Ringling College’s Photography and Imaging program builds on the photographic tradition and thoroughly investigates the future possibilities of both the still and moving image. Students are encouraged to develop an individual voice and perspective with their work that will set them apart from the casual observers of life. Graduates are fully prepared to be young professionals, ready to participate in and help define this exciting new era of photography.