Drawing on more than 25 years behind the camera, Krista Joy Niles brings an award-winning photojournalism background to her fine art photography practice. Her work merges documentary observation with abstract, painterly forms.
Her journalism career included work for the New York Times, Associated Press, and other major outlets. She contributed to the Times' September 11 coverage, which received the 2002 Pulitzer Prize.
After leaving daily journalism in 2006, Krista deepened her artistic foundation through teaching documentary arts to youth and pursuing an M.A. in Art History at the University of Arizona, where she served as Ansel Adams Intern at the Center for Creative Photography.
Currently developing a body of work for a solo exhibition, Krista creates visual narratives that speak to the ties between trauma, memory, and family.
About Krista
Artist’s Statement
I am a visual artist working primarily in photography, with recent work incorporating collage and fiber art. My practice holds the tension between motion and stillness, between personal memory and collective history. I am interested in the neuroscience of memory and recollection, how we each experience and remember the same moment differently. Centered in themes of gender, trauma and familial relationships, my work creates layered forms where personal experience and cultural erasure meet. Through photographic imagery and tactile surfaces, I trace how moments are carried, fractured, and reassembled, inviting viewers to reconsider what has been overlooked in both families and histories.
ABBREVIATED RESUME
SENIOR SOCIAL MEDIA & AUDIENCE MANAGER
The Chronicle of Philanthropy | Washington, DC | 2024 - present
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER / SOCIAL MEDIA & DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER
Canandaigua National Bank & Trust | Canandaigua, NY | 2022 - 2024
SENIOR SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST
Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester, NY | 2020 - 2022
ADJUNCT INSTRUCTOR
Philadelphia University/Jefferson University| Philadelphia, PA | 2017 – 2019
MARKETING & CIVIC ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR
Alice Paul Institute | Mt. Laurel, NJ | 2016 – 2021
TEACHING ARTIST
Art Partners Studios | Coatesville, PA | 2015 – 2017
ANSEL ADAMS INTERN | CURATORIAL INTERN
Center for Creative Photography | University of Arizona | Tucson, AZ | 2013 – 2015
GUEST LECTURER
Community, Culture, and Art Education | University of Arizona, School of Art | 2012, 2010
PARTICIPANT
Creative Capital, Internet for Artists Workshop | Tucson, AZ | 2011
PANELIST
21st Century Community Learning Center Conference | Phoenix, AZ | 2011
TEACHING ARTIST
Jewish Community Center | Tucson, AZ | Summer 2009, 2010
PROGRAM DIRECTOR | PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR
Voices, Inc. | Tucson, AZ | 2007 – 2013
JUROR
Arizona Commission on the Arts, Community Educator Teaching Roster | Phoenix, AZ | 2008
ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER | DIGITAL SPECIALIST | INTERN
Associated Press, The New York Times, Lincoln Journal Star, Contra Costa Times, San Antonio Express-News, Attleboro Sun-Chronicle | 1993 - 2007
EDUCATION
MASTER OF ARTS
History of Art | University of Arizona
BACHELOR OF ARTS
Journalism | San Francisco State University
CERTIFICATIONS
MUSEUM STUDIES CERTIFICATE
University of Arizona
VOLUNTEERING
MEMBER, BOARD OF DIRECTORS, VICE PRESIDENT
Flower City Arts Center | Rochester, NY | 2024 - present
MEMBER, EDUCATION & ADVOCACY COMMITTEE
Alice Paul Center for Gender Justice | Mt. Laurel, NJ | 2024 - present
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
PULITZER PRIZE
The New York Times, 2002
MEMBERSHIPS
The High Line | New York, NY | 2025 - present
Flower City Arts Center | Rochester, NY | 2023 - present
Memorial Art Gallery | Rochester, NY | 2022 - present
Eastman Museum | Rochester, NY | 2022 - present
National Museum of African American History and Culture | Washington, DC | 2016 - present