Amy Sacka is a documentary photographer based in Detroit, Michigan, who is passionate about celebrating the beauty of people and culture, particularly in Detroit and the Midwest. Her work has been featured in National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler, TOPIC, BuzzFeed, the Guardian, LensCulture, PDN, Dodho, Musee Magazine, Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News and PBS World News Hour. She is a National Geographic Explorer, a two-time National Geographic grantee and a Top 50 Critical Mass photographer. Amy's photography has been exhibited at Photoville in Brooklyn, Cortona on the Move in Italy, Les Rencontres d'Arles in France, Edition ONE Santa Fe, Brighton Biennial UK, Midwest Contemporary Chicago and Detroit Institute of Arts.

GRANTS

Knight Arts Challenge Winner, 2019

National Geographic Support for Women, 2019

National Geographic Explorer Grant, 2017

Visura Personal Grant, Honorable Mention, 2016

AWARDS

Finalist Smithsonian Photo Competition, American Experience, 2019 & 2016

Finalist LensCulture Street Photography Awards, 2018

Top 50 Photographer, Critical Mass/Photolucida, 2017

2nd Place, Scarab Club Photo Exhibition, 2016

Featured entry in Exposure Awards Gallery, LensCulture, 2016

Featured entry in Magnum Photos Awards Competition Gallery, LensCulture, 2016

2nd Place – Special: Street Photography, ND Awards, 2015

Honorable Mention – People, ND Awards, 2014

Honorable Mention – Architecture, ND Awards, 2014

3rd Place, Scarab Club Photo Exhibition

5 Editor’s Pick – National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest, 2014 & 2012

Editor’s Pick – National Geographic Photo Contest, 2012 & 2011

Photo of the Week – Director Ron Howard’s Project Imagin8ion

MENTORSHIPS/FELLOWSHIPS

Scholarship to Bruce Gilden Magnum Workshop, London, 2019

Documenting Detroit fellow, 2016

Alex Webb & Rebecca Norris Webb, “Four Continents” mentorship, 2015

PUBLICATIONS

The Great Lakes depend on ice. This winter, they barely froze. National Geographic. 2020

The End Of Ice Fishing, HuffPost, 2020

COVID DIARIES, WDET Public Radio, 2020

On the ice: Anglers rejoice when the Great Lakes freeze," National Geographic, 2019

For Love & Money: Finding Roommates After 40," TOPIC, 2019

Mysterious People, Dodho, 2018

Travel portfolio, WorldWide, 2018

"Summer Portfolio: Amy Sacka," Musee, 2017

"Detroit Stories: What is This City Really All About?", LensCulture

Featured in Instagram feeds: Palm Springs Photo Festival, Visura, Everyday, Everywhere, Don't Take Pictures, PHmuseum, Women in Street

Long Lens Interview with National Geographic Editor Jeanne Modderman

Long Lens Blog by Senior National Geographic Editor Susan Welchman

“Meet Amy Sacka, who took 500 photos of Detroit in 500 days,” PBS World NewsHour

“Litro Q&A: Detroit Photographer, Amy Sacka”, Litro magazine

“Interview: Amy Sacka,” Buffalo Almanack

“Lost and Found in Detroit – in pictures”, The Guardian

“Amy Sacka, Detroit, Photographer, Captures City Day At A Time For A Year,” Huffington Post Detroit

“Photo a day project reflects newcomer’s vision of Detroit,” Detroit News

“Picture Perfect: Around Detroit in 365 Days,” Detroit Unspun

2 Photos of the Day – National Geographic Online

17 Published Photos – National Geographic Your Shot

BOOKS

"Framed," by WDET Detroit, 2019

“Getting Your Shot: Stunning Photos, How-To Tips, and Endless Inspiration from the Pros,” National Geographic, 2015

Morocco travel guide, National Geographic Traveler, 2015

“Detroit Anthology,” by Anna Clark, 2014

PRESS

National Geographic Best Photos of the Year So Far, National Geographic, 2020

Explorer Amy Sacka on Why the Great Lakes Give Her Hope, National Geographic, 2020

Detroit's Blues Culture, PDN Photo of the Day

8 Photo Stories That Will Help You See The World A Little Differently, BuzzFeed

Frozen: Detroit Photographer Documents Ice Culture in Michigan for NatGeo, WDET public radio

Detroit Photographer’s Stunning Photos of Ice Fishing in Michigan and Quest to Know Her Father, WDET public radio

Ice fishermen say their season is shrinking as the ice comes later and leaves earlier, Channel 7 WXYZ

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Summer Loving, Hatch Gallery, Detroit

Sundays at the Carpet House, Framed by WDET, Baltimore Gallery

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

Framed by WDET: Places Where We Belong, Detroit, 2019

PerSIStence, Collected Detroit, Detroit, 2019

LensCulture Street Photography Exhibition, Les Rencontres d’Arles, France

Critical Mass 2017 Top 50 Exhibition: A Contemporary Reference of the Human Condition, Cortona on the Move, Italy

Critical Mass 2017 Top 50 Exhibition: A Contemporary Reference of the Human Condition, Edition ONE Gallery, Santa Fe

Documenting Detroit, Photoville, Brooklyn, New York

Documenting Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit

Actual Size Biennial, Contemporary Art Institute Detroit

No Place Like Detroit, Baltimore Gallery, Detroit

Midwest Contemporary, Lillstreet Gallery, Chicago

Brighton Photo Biennial, Night Contact, Brighton, UK

Annual Photography Exhibition, Scarab Club, Detroit, 2014 & 2016

Eye on the D: Seeing Detroit With New Eyes, 555 Gallery, Detroit

PRESENTATIONS/HONORARIUMS

Michigan State University School of Journalism, 2020

Juror, Scarab Club Annual Photography Competition, Detroit, 2019

Amy Sacka on Water, Creative Mornings, Detroit, 2019