In Studio Artist Residency: Tony M. Bingham
March 18 — May 10, 2026

Tony M. Bingham is a multidisciplinary artist working across photography, sound, sculpture, and film. He lives and works between Birmingham, Alabama and San Diego, California. Through the use of organic, repurposed, and cast-off materials, his practice engages the legacy and spirit of his ancestors, centering African American lifeways, memory, and modes of memorialization.

Bingham’s work is grounded in a guiding question: Who will speak for my people if not the artist? His projects explore histories shaped by spirituality, celebration, trauma, and rebirth, creating spaces where shared stories and lived experience take form. His work often brings together communities through acts of witnessing, remembrance, and collective reflection.

During his residency, Bingham develops a new body of work that engages dreams and memories of the landscape through sculpture, pinhole photography, found text, and site-based audio. The project focuses on rural Eastern San Diego County, particularly the town of Julian, a site of early African American presence following the Gold Rush. Though largely absent from dominant historical narratives, traces of these communities remain in the land and its histories.

Working across multiple locations, Bingham documents these landscapes using pinhole photography, layering images with text drawn from handwritten letters and archival sources. These visual elements are paired with natural sound recordings gathered on site, including plant-based audio, forming a composite record of place.

Please note: This studio is open during special hours only. Upcoming open studio dates will be announced.