Noelle McCleaf is a lens-based artist examining memory, relationship, identity, and place. Inspired by women’s stories and archives, her work seeks to contemplate past histories from a contemporary perspective.
Born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia, Noelle received her BFA from the Ringling College of Art and Design and her MFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She currently lives and works in Sarasota, Florida.
Some of her recent exhibitions include Collective Narratives at 502 Gallery in Sarasota, Florida, Cuerpo Territorio: Reverberations of Belonging at the Hand Art Center at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and Slow Exposures in Zebulon, Georgia. Her work has been featured in Analog Forever Magazine, A Yellow Rose Project, Booooooom.com, Humble Arts Foundation, Don’t Smile, Feminist Photography Network, Fraction Magazine, Lenscratch, and Sarasota Magazine.
Education
2006-2008 MFA, Photography, Minneapolis College of Art and Design
2002-2006 BFA, Photography, Ringling College of Art and Design
Selected Exhibitions
2025 Shadow Work, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
13th Annual Combined Caucus Exhibition, Society for Photographic Education, McNamara Gallery, University of Nevada, Reno
Collective Narratives, 502 Gallery, Sarasota, Florida
2024 Shopliftable, 502 Gallery, Sarasota, Florida
Ringling College of Art and Design Faculty Exhibition, Stulburg Gallery, Sarasota, Florida
Slow Exposures, Photography of the Rural South, Zebulon, Georgia
2023 Cuerpo Territorio: Reverberations of Belonging, The Hand Art Center, Stetson University, DeLand, Florida
SPE South Central Exhibition, The Corn Center for Visual Arts at CSU, Columbus, Georgia
Duplicator, The Department of Contemporary Art, Tampa, Florida
Slow Exposures, Celebrating Photography of the Rural South, Zebulon, Georgia
2022 Reverberations, Slow Exposures Pop-up Exhibition, Noelle McCleaf and Felicia E. Gail, A Novel Experience, Zebulon, Georgia
Ringling College of Art and Design Faculty Exhibition, Stulburg Gallery, Sarasota, Florida
SPE Women's, WE the Women's Caucus Exhibition, Searching for Life: Regrowth and Display, Xavier University Art Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio
2021 The Creative Portrait, Los Angeles Center for Photography, Juried by Aline Smithson, Los Angeles, California
FLA: The Art of All Things Florida, Mize Gallery, St. Petersburg, Florida
Context, Juried by Juli Lowe, Filter Photo, Chicago, Illinois
Ringling College of Art and Design Faculty Exhibition, Stulberg Gallery, Sarasota, Florida
2020 A Yellow Rose Project, Indiana University
2019 Viewpoint, Gaze Modern, Sarasota, Florida
Illumination, Ritual, Reflection, Redux Contemporary Art Center, Charleston, South Carolina
Diffusion, Southeast Center for Photography, Greenville, South Carolina
Life of Water, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Colins, Colorado
2018 Kindred: Recent Photographs by Noelle McCleaf, Richard and Barbara Basch Gallery, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota Florida
Docuflorida II: Projections and Prints, Featured Artist, Pensacola Museum of History at the University of West Florida
Slow Exposures, Photography of the Rural South, Zebulon, Georgia
2017 Now You See Me, Now You Don't: Noelle McCleaf, Selina Roman, and Karen Arango M. Chapel Projects, Sarasota, Florida
Intangible Corporeal, The Art Center, Sarasota, Florida
In Process, 3080 N Washington Blvd, Sarasota, Florida
2016 The Blue Library Vol. 2: Conversations, Noelle McCleaf and Michael McCraw, Antenna, New Orleans, Louisiana
Annual Ringling College of Art and Design Faculty Exhibition, Sarasota, Florida
The Rural South, Slow Exposures Photography Exhibition, Zebulon, Georgia
2015 The Ones We Love, Camden Image Gallery, London
The Ringling Underground, The Ringling Museum, Sarasota, Florida
Key Influence, Exhibition and Residency at Longboat Key Center for the Arts, Sarasota, Florida
Here and Now, SARTQ’s Inaugural Exhibition, State of the Arts Gallery, Sarasota, Florida
2014 The Blue Library Photo Book Exhibition New Orleans, Louisiana
Open, Juried by Shane Lavalette, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, Colorado
The Rural South, Slow Exposures Photography Exhibition, Zebulon, Georgia
2013 Photo Nola Finale Slideshow, Cathedral Creative Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana
2012 Accumulation: MCAD MFA Retrospective, Whittier Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2011 A Bee in Her Bonnet, Solo Exhibition, Altered Esthetics, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Art-i-facts, MCAD Gallery, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Home, Altered Esthetics, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Woman as Photographer, Minneapolis Photo Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Women: Relationship and Identity, Homewood Studios, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Press and Publications
2024 Lemurs in Art: From the Lemur Conservation Foundation Collection, Penelope Brody-Sanders and Mark Ormond, Lemur Conservation Foundation
2023 20 Mamiya 7 Photographers You Need to Know in 2023, Analog Forever Magazine
2021 Booooooom.com,“Orange Crush” by Photographer Noelle McCleaf
2020 Then & Now: 25 Years of MCAD MFA
A Yellow Rose Project, Featured Artist
Don't Take Pictures, Photo of the Day, March 15
2019 Feminist Photography Network, Featured Artist
2018 Diffusion Annual IX
On Death, Humble Arts Foundation Group Show #58
Don't Smile, Year Two, Featured Artist
2017 Ain't-Bad Curator's Choice with Richard McCabe, Issue No. 12
Humble Arts Foundation Group Show 53: On Beauty
The Female Gaze: Portraits, Don’t Smile Magazine
Mother and Daughter, Edge of Humanity Magazine
Southern Glossary, Issue #3, Winter 2017
2016 Papersafe + Nomadic Bookshelf, Issue #7: The Wild
Incandescent: A Color Film Zine, Issue #10
Southern Glossary Interview
2015 Plates-to-Pixels Gallery
Faces of Fraction
2014 The Ones We Love
Accent Magazine Issue 6
BETA, Oranbeg Press, Edition of 200 Cards in a VHS Cassette Box
Rural Life, Zine with The American Guide
Color Space Editions
2013 Fraction Magazine Issue #52
A New Romance, Oranbeg Press
Speaking Engagements: Lectures and Panels
2023 Visiting Artist Lecture, The Hand Art Center, Stetson University, DeLand, Florida
2022 Slow Exposures Pop-up Artist Talk, Noelle McCleaf and Felicia E. Gail
2018 Kindred: Recent Photographs by Noelle McCleaf, Lecture and Panel
Docuflorida II: Projections and Prints, Featured Artist, Lecture and Q&A, Pensacola Museum of History at University of West Florida
2017 Panel Discussion, The Artist’s Mind/The Curator’s Vision, Art Center Sarasota
2016 Monday Lecture Series: Noelle McCleaf, Ringling College of Art and Design
2012 The Staged Photograph with Sally Pettibon, Ringling College of Art and Design
2011 College of Visual Arts, St. Paul, Minnesota
2009 The Photographic Idea with David Goldes, Minneapolis College of Art and Design
2008 Panel Discussion, Recent Photographs from 9 Women, University Center Rochester, Minnesota
Interviews
2020 Sarasota Magazine, Noelle McCleaf Tells the Stories of Women and Florida Through Photography
Strange Fire Collective, Interview with Hamidah Glasgow
2018 A Brief Interview with Noelle McCleaf, Strant Magazine
2015 Lenscratch, Photo Lucida: Noelle McCleaf, Evie Lou and Laura Jane
2014 Feature Shoot, AnIntimate Look at Kindred Spirits Evie Lou and Laura Jane
2013 Don/Dean Interview
2013 Feature Shoot, Evocative Mother and Daughter Portraits Shot During Sultry Summer Evenings
Selected Awards and Mentions
2025 Critical Mass Top 200, Photo Lucida
2019 Director's Award from Hamidah Glasgow, Life of Water, Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Collins, Colorado
2014 Honorable Mention, Open, Juried by Shane Lavalette, Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Collins, Colorado
Honorable Mention, Slow Exposures Photography Exhibition, Zebulon, Georgia
2013 Review Santa Fe Participant, Santa Fe, New Mexico
2011 Altered Esthetics Solo Exhibition Program, Minneapolis, Minnesota
2010 35th Anniversary International Women Exhibition, Honorable Mention, Professional Women Photographers
Self-Published Photo Books and Zines
2022 Reverberations, Noelle McCleaf and Felicia E. Gail, handmade one-page book of collaborative photography and poetry, Slow Exposures Pop Up, Zebulon, Georgia
2018 Evie Lou and Laura Jane, handmade one-page risograph zine, edition of 100, Kindred: Recent Photographs by Noelle McCleaf, Basch Gallery, Ringling College of Art and Design
2017 Moss Never Grows on a Busy Road, self-published photo book, Noelle McCleaf
2008 Convergence, Noelle McCleaf, Edition of 3 case bound books, MCAD MFA Thesis Exhibition, The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, Minnesota