April Friges, M.F.A.

Associate Professor of Photography

Contact Information

• Office: 916 Thayer Hall
• Phone: 412-392-4312
• Fax: 412-392-3917
• Email: afriges@pointpark.edu

Education

• M.F.A., Studio Art/Photography, University of California, Irvine
• B.F.A., Photography, University of Akron

Courses Taught

• Digital Printing Methodologies
• Experimental Black and White Photography
• View Camera Techniques
• Photographic Art Marketing
• Contemporary Issues in Photo
• Studio Lighting
• Senior Thesis

Curriculum Vitae

Professional Affiliations

• Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council
• Associated Artists of Pittsburgh
• College Art Association
• Society for Photographic Education
• Photographic Resource Center
• Protohaven

Artistic Works

• Adaptation - Local Notes, Tomayko Foundation, Pittsburgh, Pa., 2024.
• In Absolute Space, Stephen Bulger Gallery, Toronto, Canada, 2024.
• solo exhibition, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, Pa., 2023.
• Exposure, Fort Points Arts Community Gallery, Boston, Mass., 2022.
• Artist in the Window, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (SAMA), Altoona, Pa., 2022.
• The Implications of the Camera, SAMA, Altoona, Pa., 2021.
• Spectator, Pittsburgh International Airport, Pittsburgh, Pa., 2020.
• Secret, SPACE, Pittsburgh, Pa., 2019.
• Mid-Atlantic Image Makers, SPEMA, Pennsylvania College of Art + Design, Lancaster, Pa., 2019. 
• Lights, Camera, Action, Kunstraum LLC, Brooklyn, N.Y., 2018.
• The Photography Show, AIPAD, Stephen Bulger Gallery Exhibition Booth, New York, N.Y., 2018.
• Starless Midnight, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, UK, 2018.

Publication

• Friges, A. (2023). The Contemporary Student and the Critique. In Armstrong, E. & Doren, M.'s, Let's Talk About Critique: Reimagining Art and Design Education. 

Awards and Honors

• Residency Grant, SAMA, 2022
• Social Impact Scholar Awardee, in partnership with United Homecare Workers, 2022
• Artistic Scholarship Award (teaching release) for developing research in Tinytypes, 2019
• Pittsburgh Foundation Creative Development Grant, Heinz Endowments/Pittsburgh Foundation, 2016
• Assets for Artists Professional Development Fellowship, 2016
• Flight School Fellowship, The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, 2015
• Commendation award winner, Fellowship 15 program, Silver Eye Center for Photography, 2014-2015
• Residency Grant, The Vermont Studio Center, 2012
• Pedagogical Fellowship, University of California, Irvine, 2010
• California Fellowship for the Arts, University of California, Irvine, 2010

Point Park Features

• "April Friges Has Solo Exhibit at Silver Eye Center for Photography," February 2023.
• "BFA in Photography Emphasizes Pre-Professional Skills," July 2022.
• "April Friges Displays Work at Local Exhibit," February 2014.
• "Faculty Profile: Meet April Friges, Assistant Professor of Photography," January 2014.

In the News

• "'Exposure 2022' Takes Photography to Unexpected Places," The Boston Globe, Aug. 10, 2022.
• "Let's Talk About Art: Is it Sculpture or Photography?," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jan. 6, 2015.
• "April Friges' Show Interrogates Photography's Limits," Pittsburgh City Paper, Dec. 17, 2014.
• "Point Park Professor's Photos on Exhibit in Oakland," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dec. 11, 2014.
• "Light Show: Solo Exhibit Serves as 'Spectator' to Effects of Exposure," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Dec. 3, 2014.
• "Sewickley Sweetwater Exhibit Examines 'Pop' Influences," Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Jan. 15, 2014.

Explore the BFA Photography Program