Pre(Occupied) Landscapes with Alexey Yurenev | In-person in NYC

@ About “Pre(Occupied) Landscapes” aims to challenge conventional representations of the landscape in photography. Rather than treating landscapes as passive backdrops, this workshop explores them as active, layered sites where natural systems, social histories, and political forces intersect. Through lectures, discussions, a guided field exercise, and peer critiques, participants will engage with the landscape not just as a visual subject, but as a living archive of occupation, transformation, and resistance. TOPICS INSTRUCTOR DETAILS ENROLL NOW Image © Alexey Yurenev Topics This workshop centers on the idea that landscapes are constructed through human narratives, power structures, and lived experience. Participants will examine how photographic strategies can reveal or obscure these dynamics, and how their own presence, perspective, and practice shape the images they make. The weekend emphasizes observation, listening, responsiveness, and critical engagement with place. Learning objectives include: Understanding the landscape as a construct shaped by human narratives and power. Critically engaging with photographic strategies for documenting place. Developing field‑based visual inquiries rooted in observation and responsiveness. Reflecting on one’s own practice in relation to landscape, power, and presence. Producing new work and receiving constructive peer critique. Required preparation: Read Deborah Bright’s essay Of Mother Nature and Marlboro Men. Prepare a 5‑minute presentation on your practice. Bring a digital camera for ease of review and discussion. Bring a laptop and card reader on Day 2 for image transfer and critique. Image © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev © Alexey Yurenev Details Dates: May 30–31, 2026 (Saturday & Sunday) Time: 10:00 AM–5:00 PM EST (with a 1‑hour lunch break) Format: In‑person, New York City, NY Participants: Limited to 12 Course Fee: $315 (members) / $365 (non‑members) Level: Open to all Image © Alexey Yurenev Instructor Alexey Yurenev is an artist, visual researcher, and educator whose work explores the intersections of memory, technology, and production of knowledge. He is an adjunct associate professor in the visual arts MFA Program at Columbia University and a faculty member at the International Center of Photography (ICP). His work has been exhibited internationally at venues including FOAM (Amsterdam), Palazzo Poggi Museum (Bologna), Hangar (Brussels), MOMus Modern/Costakis Collection (Thessaloniki), and Rencontres d’Arles. He is the author of the book Seeing Against Seeing (2025). Yurenev’s projects have been featured in The New York Times, National Geographic, Literary Hub, and Topic. His work is held in collections such as Johns Hopkins University Spec...