© Lisa Kessler
The Griffin Museum and Lisa Kessler are pleased to present an online class designed to help photographers develop a long-term project within a supportive and productive learning environment.
Documentary storytelling draws on the compositional awareness of street photography, the intimacy of family and personal work, and the depth that emerges through sustained observation. Whether participants are working with strangers, within their own communities, or on subjects of personal concern, this class encourages thoughtful approaches to photographing people and places through individual perspective and intention.
Over five sessions, participants will share and refine their work through assignments, discussions, and group critiques. Emphasis is placed on clarifying project and narrative ideas, strengthening visual decision-making, and exploring how form, content, and sequencing shape meaning. The course fosters compassionate and constructive engagement with subjects, peers, and audiences alike.
Participants may continue an existing project, begin a new one, or use the workshop to explore new directions in their photographic practice. All camera formats and processes are welcome, including smartphone photography. The workshop culminates in a short, edited image sequence that advances each participant's project.
In•Between•Middle: Where Stories Reside © Lisa KesslerIn•Between•Middle: Where Stories Reside © Lisa KesslerIn•Between•Middle: Where Stories Reside © Lisa Kessler© Lisa Kessler© Lisa Kessler© Lisa Kessler
Class Details
Dates: Four weekly sessions will be held on Tuesdays: March 10, 17, 24, and 31, 2026, followed by a one-week break and a final session on April 14, 2026.
Time: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM ET
Format: Online, over Zoom
Participants: Limited to 8
Course Fee: $525 (members) / $595 (non-members)
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
The non-member price includes a one-year membership to the Griffin Museum. Learn more about all the benefits here: https://griffinmuseum.org/membership-account/membership-levels/
About the Instructor
Lisa Kessler is a photographer and educator based in Boston. Her long-term documentary projects include the idea of the color pink in America; sexual abuse and the rise of the survivors' movement; young people in our public schools; and portraits of families coping with homicide. She recently completed and exhibited a project about the last middle school in Boston.
Lisa's work has been supported by the George Gund Foundation, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Honickman Foundation and Center for Documentary Studies, the Photographic Resource Center, and Pictures of the Year International.
Her work is in the permanent collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Teaching Museum of Lehigh University. She has taught at BU, BC, and ICP. Her work is represented by Anderson Yezerski Gallery.
Lisakessler.com@lisakesslerboston