**Melissa Ann Pinney: Photographing Adolescence Inside Chicago Public Schools**

Melissa Ann Pinney spent seven years photographing the everyday moments of adolescence within Chicago Public Schools during her artist residency. Her series *Becoming Themselves* portrays students—especially those marginalized and underrepresented—as they navigate identity, community, and the many transformations of growing up.

We interviewed Pinney about the making of her series and the stories behind some of her favorite images. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

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### What drew you to photograph inside Chicago Public Schools?

I was invited by Artists in Public Schools, an organization that pairs artists with residencies in schools all over Chicago, to photograph Bell School and Ogden International Schools. It was an incredible opportunity to immerse myself in often overlooked communities of children and teens.

Since my teens, and while photographing my own family, childhood and adolescence have always been a focus of my work. My 2010 monograph *Girl Ascending* explored the social lives and coming-of-age rituals of my daughter, Emma, her friends, and teammates. The chance to widen the scope of my work beyond these personal connections was exciting.

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### When you first started, what kinds of images or stories did you hope to capture?

I’m interested in photography as a process—a way of paying close attention to the richness and mystery already present in everyday life. I capture what’s happening in the moment, and the story reveals itself through contemplation of the images afterward.

This project gave me the opportunity to create what I think of as *real pictures*: images that reward sustained and repeated viewing and avoid stereotypes and clichés. At first, I didn’t know what to expect in the schools, but through trial and error, I found opportunities to create meaningful pictures as I became part of the school community.

The students’ beauty, compassion, and conflicts are unrehearsed. They collaborate by welcoming me into their world. My photographs are both documents of a time and place, and works of art, embedding references to contemporary culture, history, and ideas of representation.

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### How has the project evolved over time?

When I began photographing students in three different Chicago public schools, I had no idea what was to come—how the project would evolve amidst a global pandemic, a renewed focus on systemic racial and gender inequities, and rampant gun violence. Now, the work stands as a document of a historic time.

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### How much time have you spent working on *Becoming Themselves*?

This project is ongoing and still evolving. I started photographing at Bell School in 2018.

*In Their Own Light* was my first book, showcasing early pictures from elementary, middle, and high schools. In *Becoming Themselves*, I focus solely on two high schools—Ogden International and Senn High School—between 2019 and 2025.

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### What was the most challenging part of this project?

It is incredibly difficult to witness the grief and ongoing trauma many students experience daily, especially when a student in the community has been shot and killed. Tragically, eight students I photographed died this way.

The trauma of gun violence reverberates throughout the schools and community.

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### What’s the story behind one of your favorite photographs?

One image features Lizzie Williams, easily recognizable by her *My Little Pony* leggings and arms loaded with jewelry. She stood out in a hallway crowded with students at their lockers.

I introduced myself and asked if she wanted to make a portrait. We moved to the old gym for its brilliant light and large south-facing windows. As we worked on her pose, the boys basketball team started running laps around the gym, casting shadows on the wall behind Lizzie.

At first, I was annoyed by this unexpected disruption, but soon realized the shadows added another layer of mystery and complexity. It was a moment of serendipity I am grateful for.

Last spring, the DePaul University Art Museum added this photograph and six others from the project to their permanent collection. A class of Senn students, many featured in the photographs, took a field trip to the museum to see the works.

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### Were there any moments that surprised you during the process?

Many moments took me by surprise.

One day early last fall, a student I hadn’t met asked me to take his picture. When I looked through my lens, I recognized Axle, a student I first met two years earlier when he transferred to Senn. Axle had transformed himself radically with a new haircut and style.

I’m always moved when a student tells me the project made a positive impact on their life.

For example, Travion Williams, at Ogden International High School, said he was shy and self-conscious in 2019 when we made his portrait. His image was one of 84 installed on panels in the school’s front lobby in summer 2020.

Though classes shifted fully online that fall, outdoor sports continued. When the cross country team started practicing, Travion discovered his friends and teammates recognized and admired him, changing how he saw himself.

It’s rewarding when students tell me my work matters to them.

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### How have your relationships with the students evolved?

As my ties to the community deepened, I understood this project’s meaning—not only for me but for the students, who say they feel truly “seen” by participating.

These relationships now transcend school to include family events, parties, and baby showers. I couldn’t have predicted the strong connections I developed with some students, many of whom keep in touch years after graduating.

For instance, when I brought Sophiat Agboola a print of her portrait, she told me it inspired her. Surprised, I asked how—she shared that her portrait gave her the confidence to wear her natural hair, something she had at times been teased for.

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### Do you have any memorable anecdotes from your time in the schools?

I photographed Jakolbi Lard only once, at prom in 2019, drawn by the broken heart shaved into his hair.

In January 2022, I learned Jakolbi had been shot and killed. His portrait now carries a different meaning—the wings formed by the mirror frame behind him suggest a symbolism beyond the broken heart.

Jakolbi’s mother, Patricia Lard, told me he was not heartbroken but the heart-breaker. She brought Jakolbi’s daughter to an exhibition including his portrait in 2023. She believes displaying his image honors his life and thanked me for “seeing in her son what the world did not.”

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### Has working in schools changed how you think about education or childhood?

Students today have much more agency than previous generations. They freely define themselves through chosen teams, clubs, dress, sexual orientation, pronouns, and sometimes new names.

There is a freedom in the acceptance I see, and a closeness in the physical camaraderie among students.

I started reading news more closely during this project, following headlines about Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU). Chicago’s past is deeply linked to its present through issues like housing, education, racial and gender equity, and immigration. These issues flow through the permeable wall between the city and its public schools.

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### What do you hope viewers take away from these images?

I hope these pictures encourage a deeper appreciation of the radiant young people in our public schools—beyond stereotypes.

I intend these portraits to honor and commemorate those who are vulnerable and often underrepresented.

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Melissa Ann Pinney’s *Becoming Themselves* is a poignant, ongoing documentation of adolescence, identity, and resilience within Chicago’s public schools—a powerful reminder of the complex realities faced by its students every day.
https://www.npr.org/sections/the-picture-show/2025/11/01/nx-s1-5538425/life-inside-chicago-public-schools