MENGWEN CAO is a photographer, artist and educator based in New York.
As a queer Chinese immigrant, they use care and tenderness to explore spaces between race, gender, and cultural identity. As a board member of Authority Collective and a founding member of Chinese Storytellers, they are championing space for diverse narratives and perspectives in the media industry.
Their projects have been featured on The New York Times, NPR, Mashable, BUST, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, Sina, Tencent etc. They have participated in international exhibitions like Photoville, Jimei Arles, Lianzhou Foto Festival.
Mengwen graduated from the New Media Narratives and Documentary Practice program at the International Center of Photography. They received NLGJA’s Excellence in Photojournalism Award in 2019. They were recognized by The Lit List in 2018 and PDN 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch in 2019.
They are currently the Project Manager at Magnum Foundation and the Visuals Editor at ChinaFile. Previously, Mengwen has worked as an instructional designer and a user experience designer.
As a queer Chinese immigrant, they use care and tenderness to explore spaces between race, gender, and cultural identity. As a board member of Authority Collective and a founding member of Chinese Storytellers, they are championing space for diverse narratives and perspectives in the media industry.
Their projects have been featured on The New York Times, NPR, Mashable, BUST, Foreign Policy, The Guardian, Sina, Tencent etc. They have participated in international exhibitions like Photoville, Jimei Arles, Lianzhou Foto Festival.
Mengwen graduated from the New Media Narratives and Documentary Practice program at the International Center of Photography. They received NLGJA’s Excellence in Photojournalism Award in 2019. They were recognized by The Lit List in 2018 and PDN 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch in 2019.
They are currently the Project Manager at Magnum Foundation and the Visuals Editor at ChinaFile. Previously, Mengwen has worked as an instructional designer and a user experience designer.
TALKS / PANELS / CONVERSATIONS
- 2022 Artist Talk, Women Photograph Workshop 2022, Zoom
- 2022 Artist Talk, Regis University, Denver
- 2022 Guest Lecture, the University of Texas at Austin
- Guest Lecture; MA Visual & Multimedia Journalism, University of Bolten, International Multimedia Journalism; Beijing, Zoom, 2020
- Guest Lecture; I.S. 136 Charles O. Dewey; New York, USA, Zoom, 2020
- Conversation; NüVoices Podcast: Gender, self-discovery, and vibe curation with Mengwen Cao, 2020
- Guest Lecture; School of Visual Arts, New York, 2019
- Conversation; "Center the Margins" ft Mary Kang, Melissa Bunni Elian, and Annie Tritt at Adorama, Women Photograph x Photo Brigade Pane, New York, 2019
- Panel; Parallax: ReVisioning Queer and Trans People of Color in Photography, Photoville, New York, 2019
- Panel; NY Chinese Culture Salon, 2019
- Panel; Career Success for Women and Non-Binary Journalists, Presented by AAJA Women & Non-Binary Voices, Asian American Journalism Association, Atlanta, USA, 2019
- Conversation; International Center of Photography Podcast: In Process, 2019
- Guest Lecture; MA Visual & Multimedia Journalism, University of Bolten, International Multimedia Journalism, Hangzhou, China, 2019
- Panel; Models For Collaboration in Documentary Photography, A Blade of Grass Assembly x Magnum Foundation, 2019
- Artist Talk; Open Source Gallery, 2018
- Artist Talk; International Center of Photography, 2018
AWARDS / FELLOWSHIPS / RESIDENCIES
- 6x6 Global Talent, World Press Photo, 2020
- The Association of LGBTQ Journalists (NLGJA) Excellence in Photojournalism Award, 2019
- PDN 30 New & Emerging Photographers to Watch, 2019
- The Lit List: Photographers to Watch, Exhibit & Hire, 2018
-
Magnum Foundation Fellowship, 2018
-
Zhongnan Mountain Residency, 2017
EXHIBITIONS
- Construccio de la identitat, Barcelona, 2020
- Parallax, presented by Authority Collective, Photoville Los Angles & New York, 2019
- Here We Are (video, installation), Fluctuation, Jimei x Arles, Xiamen, China, 2018
- Here We Are" & "I Stand Between"(multimedia installation & prints), What We Say in Cars, New York, 2018
- Lit List 2018, Authority Collective, Photoville, New York, 201
- "Nen 念头" (lenticular prints), And the Nanshan Mountains Echoed, Xi'an, 2018
- And the Zhongnan Mountain Echoed, Xi’an Yuan Gallery, Xi’an, 2018
- I Stand Between, Hidden Narratives, International Center of Photography, New York, 2017
- "Free To Love"(photo book), Lianzhou Photography Festival, Lianzhou, China, 2017
- Real-time curation, “Public, Private, Secret” Exhibition, The Museum of International Center of Photography, New York, 2016
- Here We Are (multimedia), Open Show NYC, Bronx Documentary Center, New York, 2016
- Here We Are (multimedia), Another Kind of Paradise, International Center of Photography, New York, 2016