BIOGRAPHY

MONICA CRUZ is a Southside Chicago native and graduated from Columbia College in May 2004 (B.A. Photography).   At Columbia, Cruz refined her talents under Peter Barreras, Peter Bacon Hales, and Barbara Kasten. 

A compulsive image-maker, Cruz's photographs primarily surface from her own daily life.  Often referring to her photographs as "trinkets," Cruz's photography is not so much documenting reality as it is tenderly objectifying it, capturing aesthetically striking moments that are particularly personal yet possess recognizable universality.  

Cruz does not only reserve her lens for her own work, but is also a freelance photographer and photography instructor with the city's Gallery 37/After School Matters programs.