Jem Cohen: Artist in Focus

Filmmaker, photographer, and multimedia artist Jem Cohen has made over 65 films. His films are often documentary/fiction hybrids. Navigating between “city symphony,” diary film, and essay, they pull things seen on the periphery into the center. Numerous of Cohen’s works are held in major collections, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum, and D.C.’s National Gallery of Art. Retrospectives include Harvard Film Archive and London’s Whitechapel Gallery. Grants/fellowships include Guggenheim, Alpert, Creative Capital, and awards include the Independent Spirit Award (IFP) and Persistence of Vision Award (SFFS). We Have an Anchor, a multimedia show with live music, was a main stage production in BAM’s Next Wave and London’s Barbican. His stills and installations have been shown at Robert Miller Gallery, University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the Sharjah Biennial. Cohen has collaborated with musicians including Patti Smith, Fugazi, REM, Xylouris White, DJ Rupture, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as with the writer, Luc Sante.