Cali M. Banks

Cali M. Banks
Native Land, University Hill, 2023
Paper Size: 5x7 inches
Edition of 1
Double polaroid emulsion lift and transfer onto watercolor paper with gold leafing and hand beaded detail. Produced and signed by the aritst.

I began documenting my hometown of Syracuse in November 2022. When I traveled back to places of importance during my "coming of age" years, I realized many places of both solace and nostalgia have been demolished or abandoned. I started to rework this experimental, documentary project with ideas of "teardown towns" and blind tradition. Returning as an adult - confronted with the same scene for decades - also allowed me to reexamine myself, interconnectedness with the people around me, and the sense of home. I used Syracuse as my muse, as a familiar landscape demonstrates a feeling of nostalgia and longing.

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Cali M. Banks (Munsee Lenape/Scottish) is a lens-based artist based in Syracuse, NY. Her work explores personal and collective histories, relational intimacies, and the expansion of narrow, flattened definitions of indigenous art. Banks holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts Practices from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a BA in Art and Technology and Global Health Studies from Allegheny College. She manages communications, outreach, and development for Light Work, and serves on the faculty at Syracuse University, Pratt Institute’s Munson campus, Indiana University, and Penumbra Foundation. She was a 2024 En Foco Photography Fellow, a 2024 Workspace Artist-in-Residence at Penumbra Foundation, and is an upcoming 2025 Project Resident at Aurora PhotoCenter. In recent times, she has exhibited work during Art Basel Miami and Every Woman Biennial London, along with other notable venues such as Smack Mellon, Millennium Film Workshop, Tiger Strikes Asteroid Philadelphia, Atlanta Film Festival, and Anthology Film Archives. Banks also had a recent solo exhibition at the Everson Museum of Art. She is a featured artist in Volume 28 of Nueva Luz, and appears in Issue # 24, #26, and #38 of The Hand Magazine. Banks has also been published on Der Greif, Lomography, Lenscratch, Instant Photographers, and Rolling Stone France.

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