CV / BIO

EDUCATION

2005
B.S., International Business, Drexel University. Philadelphia, United States of America

2001
Fashion & Design Studies, Istituto Marangoni. Milan, Italy

2023
Documentary Intensive with Donna Ferrato. New York, United States of America

2022
Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism program. International Center of Photography. New York, NY, United States of America

Eddie Adams Workshop. Jeffersonville, NY, United States of America

2019–2020
Analog Photography Residency, Fleisher Art Memorial & Leeway Foundation. Philadelphia, United States of America


SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024
Old El Paso, Bridgette Mayer Gallery. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America

2023
La Caravana Del Diablo, Blue Sky — Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts. Portland, OR, United States of America

2021
Ada Trillo: La Caravana Del Diablo, Melton Gallery, University of Central Oklahoma. Edmond, OK, United States of America
With interactive installation of notes and videos from asylum seekers.

2018
How did I get here?, Galerie Clairefontaine. Ciudad de Luxemburgo, Luxemburgo

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2026
OYAKO Shashin Matsuri, Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. Tokyo, Japan.

Chicano Camera Culture: A Photographic History, 1966 to 2026, Riverside Art Museum. Riverside, CA, United States of America.

2025
Picturing the Border, Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH, United States of America.

La Caravana del Diablo, Speer Gallery, Shipley School. Bryn Mawr, PA, United States of America. 
Mexican Women Photographers: Fotógrafas de la vida cotidiana, Museo de la Ciudad de México. Mexico City, Mexico.

The Family of Migrants, Fenix Museum of Migration. Rotterdam, Netherlands. – permanent view.

2024
Picturing the Border, Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH, United States of America.

2023
La Caravana Del Diablo, Blue Sky Gallery. Portland, OR, United States of America

Female in Focus, British Journal of Photography + The Bridge & Tunnel Gallery. Brooklyn, NY, United States of America

A World on the Move: Capturing the Plight of Those Who Fled and Those Who Stayed, Chicago Center for Photojournalism. Chicago, IL, United States of America

Oyako Shashin Matsuri, Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan. Tokyo, Japan
Ada Trillo & the Sirkhane DARKROOM, Houston Center for Photography. Houston, TX, United States of America

2022
This Tender, Fragile Thing, Jack Shainman Gallery School. Kinderhook, NY, United States of America

Young Americans, InLiquid. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America (NEA-supported)

Reclaiming & Making Art: Desire, Violence, Museum of Sex. New York, NY, United States of America

Caravanas del Diablo, Los Angeles Museum of Social Justice. Los Angeles, CA, United States of America (2021–22)

2021
Exhibitions at Scotiabank CONTACT Festival. Toronto, Canada

Annual PX3 & State of the World, PX3. Paris, France.

Open Walls Arles. Arles, France

Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, Marunouchi Nijubashi Building. Tokyo, Japan.

Fotógrafas Latam. Paris, France.

6th Edition of the Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography. Barcelona, Spain.

La Trienal: Estamos Bien 20/21, El Museo del Barrio. New York, NY, United States of America.

La Caravana del Diablo, Melton Gallery, University of Central Oklahoma. Edmond, OK, United States of America.

Through the Lens: Modern Photography in Delaware Valley, James A. Michener Art Museum. Doylestown, PA, United States of America.

2020
La Caravana, The New School Skybridge Artspace, Eugene Lang College. New York, NY, United States of America.

If Walls Could Speak: Asylum Seekers, Noyes Museum of Art of Stockton University. Hammonton, NJ, United States of America.

Virtual Dallas Center for Photography: The Human Portrait. Dallas, TX, United States of America.

Chelsea International Photo Competition, Agora Gallery. New York, NY, United States of America.

2020–2021.
Rediscovery & Sensorial Reality, Agora Gallery. New York, NY, United States of America.

The Artist Equity 71st Annual Spring Exhibition. United States of America.

PORTRAITS, Hellerau Photography Award Finalist Prize. Germany.

Tokyo International Foto Awards. Tokyo, Japan.

Foto Femme United / Le Censure Exposition. Paris, France.

Foto Nostrum. Barcelona, Spain.

Winter Groupshow, Galerie Clairefontaine. Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

2019
Chasing Freedom: Portraits of the Migrant Caravan, University of the Arts. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

What Borders Do, University of Pennsylvania Law School. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Beyond the Wall: Expanding the Immigration Conversation, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Center Forward, Center for Fine Art Photography. Fort Collins, CO, United States of America.

La Caravana, Temple Contemporary. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America. 2019–2020.

If Walls Could Speak, Saint Joseph’s University. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

La Caravana, Cortona On The Move Festival. Cortona, Italy.

Galerie Clairefontaine. Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

2018
La Caravana, International House of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

The Decisive Moment, Praxis Gallery. Minneapolis, MN, United States of America.

The Unheroic Act, Anya and Andrew Shiva Gallery, John Jay College. New York, NY, United States of America.

Photo Meetings, Galerie Clairefontaine. Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

33rd Chelsea International Fine Art Competition, Agora Gallery. New York, NY, United States of America.

Passion for Freedom Art Festival. London, United Kingdom.

Chasing Freedom: The Migrant Caravan, University of the Arts. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Studio IX. Charlottesville, VA, United States of America.

2017
How Did I Get Here, Twenty-Two Gallery. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Caliban Revisited, DaVinci Art Alliance. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

People, Places and Things, Stanek Gallery. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

2016
Works by Latin American Women, RASCO Gallery. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

New Works by José Ortiz-Peña and Ada Trillo, RASCO Gallery. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

2024
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in Photography, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. New York, United States of America

2022
The Pew Fellowship in the Arts, Pew Center for Arts & Heritage. Philadelphia, United States of America

Eddie Adams Workshop Canon Award. Jeffersonville, NY, United States of America
1st Place, SoCal Journalism Awards (Photo Essay). Los Angeles, United States of America

2021
Leeway Transformation Award, Leeway Foundation. Philadelphia, United States of America
Leeway Art & Change Award, Leeway Foundation. Philadelphia, United States of America

2020
Gold Winner — Editorial / Political, Tokyo International Foto Awards. Tokyo, Japan.

Curator Selection, PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris. Paris, France.

Winner — Female in Focus, Vogue Italy. Milan, Italy.

First Place — Photo Annual Awards, Photojournalism. United States of America.

Selected — Fotografas Latam. Paris, France.

Finalist — Hellerau Photography Award. Germany.

Top 10 Feature Selection — Critical Mass. Portland, OR, United States of America.

Series Winner — British Journal of Photography’s Female in Focus. London, United Kingdom.

Winner — Marty Forscher Fellowship. New York, NY, United States of America.

First Place — Focus Photo LA. Los Angeles, CA, United States of America.

Portfolio Review Award — The Guardian Feature, FORMAT20. United Kingdom.

IPA — Editorial Press / Feature Story — La Caravana del Diablo. International.

Winner — Prix de la Photographie de Paris. Paris, France.

First Place — The Artist Equity 71st Annual Spring Exhibition. United States of America.

Me & Eve Award — Center of Photographic Arts. Santa Fe, NM, United States of America.

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in Photography, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. New York, United States of America

2019
Artist-in-Residence, Fleisher Art Memorial & Leeway Foundation. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America

ND Awards (Honorable Mention, Editorial: Documentary), Neutral Density Photography Awards. Online (International)

Center for Fine Art Photography Awards, Center for Fine Art Photography. Fort Collins, United States of America

Center for Emerging Visual Artists Fellowship. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America

2018
Art + Change Grant, Leeway Foundation. Philadelphia, United States of America
Silver Star, Passion for Freedom. London, United Kingdom

2017
1st Place (Best Series), Black & White International Awards. Rome, Italy

ACADEMIC ACTIVITY

2023
Photography Workshop for Adolescent Central and South American Migrants, La Casa del Migrante. Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

Artist Talk: A World on the Move, Chicago Center for Photojournalism. Chicago, IL, United States of America.

Panel + Book Signing, Houston Center for Photography. Houston, TX, United States of America.

2021
Humanizing Asylum for All, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.
The Camera as a Social Justice Tool, James A. Michener Art Museum. Doylestown, PA, United States of America.

Artist Studio Tour, Venture Café. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Photojournalism Night, Photojournalism Hub. London, United Kingdom.

La Caravana Del Diablo, Melton Gallery, University of Central Oklahoma. Edmond, OK, United States of America.

2020
If Walls Could Speak, Noyes Museum of Art, Stockton University. Hammonton, NJ, United States of America.

Thursday Night Photo Talk, Philadelphia Photo Arts Center. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Collect and Connect, Focus Photo LA and Open Show LA. Los Angeles, CA, United States of America.

Migration and Mobility, The New School University Center. New York, NY, United States of America.

Ada Trillo Happs Interview, Red Canary Collective. United States of America.

Fleisher from a Distance: Visual Artist in Residence, Fleisher Art Memorial. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

2019
Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism, with Jimmie Briggs, International Center of Photography. New York, NY, United States of America.

If Walls Could Speak, Saint Joseph’s University Gallery, Marion Hall. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Cortona On The Move. Cortona, Italy.

The Body & Photography, University of Pennsylvania, School of Design. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Penn Spectrum: Immigration, University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Center Forward, Center for Fine Art Photography. Fort Collins, CO, United States of America.

2018
The Unheroic Act: Representations of Rape in Contemporary Women’s Art in the U.S., Anya and

Andrew Shiva Gallery, John Jay College. New York, NY, United States of America.

2017
Lecture, University of Pennsylvania School of Design. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

Human Trafficking Conference, Community College of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

How Did I Get Here? Artist Talk, Twenty-Two Gallery. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

PUBLICATIONS

Books
2021
La Caravana Del Diablo: On the Run from the Northern Triangle to America, KOMMA Publishers. Lochem, Netherlands.
Hardcover, 192 pages. Text by Helen Cunningham Newbold; design by Wout de Vringer.

2025
The Family of Migrants, Hannibal Publishers / Fenix Museum of Migration. Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Published for Fenix’s inaugural exhibition—nearly 200 images by 136 photographers across 55 countries. Includes your work documenting global migration.

2021
La Caravana Del Diablo: On the Run from the Northern Triangle to America, KOMMA Publishers. Lochem, Netherlands.


PRESS

2026
“New Exhibition Chronicles the Evolution of Chicano Photography Across Six Decades.”, My Modern Met. Los Angeles, CA, United States of America.

“Chicano Camera Culture’ Highlights the Power of Photography from a Cross-Generational Lens.”, PRINT Magazine. New York, NY, United States of America.

“Fenix: The Family of Migrants.”, The Eye of Photography. Paris, France.

“Riverside Exhibition Traces Six Decades of Chicano Photography.”, The IE Voice. Riverside, CA, United States of America.

“The Images Rewriting the American Photographic Canon.”, Domus. Milan, Italy.

2025
“The Family of Migrants.”, PF Fotografie Magazine. Hamburg, Germany.

“The Family of Migrants.”, PUNKT. Budapest, Hungary.

“Fenix: The Family of Migrants.”, Focus Magazine. Rotterdam, Netherlands.

2024
“Recipients of the 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship Announced, Including Nicholas Galanin, Lorraine O’Grady, and More.”, ARTnews. New York, NY, United States of America.

“Episode 106: Ada Trillo (Documentary Photography).”, NPR / 10fps. Washington, DC, United States of America.

“The Ukrainian War Through the Latin American Eye.”, Smithsonian Magazine. Washington, DC, United States of America.

2023
“La Caravana Del Diablo.”, ZEKE Magazine. Boston, MA, United States of America.

2022
“Brave People Stepped Up to the Plate: Remembering the Black Panthers Through Art.”, The Guardian. London, United Kingdom.

“Teenage Photographers Taught to Speak Their Minds in ‘Young Americans’.”, WHYY. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

“The Ones Who Stay: What Remains Amid the Death and Ruin of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine.”, Red Canary Collective. Minneapolis, MN, United States of America.

2021
“Beyond the Borders: A Conversation with Ada Trillo.”, Sybaris Collection. United States of America.

“The Migrants Trump Forced Mexico to Stop: Ada Trillo’s Best Photograph.”, The Guardian. London, United Kingdom.

“El Museo Looks to Define ‘Latinx Art’ With a Major Survey.”, The New York Times. New York, NY, United States of America.

“This Is Why I’m Here: Award-Winning Photographer Ada Trillo Discusses Documenting the Human Element of Migrant Narratives.”, Red Canary Collective. Minneapolis, MN, United States of America.

“La Caravana del Diablo: Ada Trillo’s Distressing Portrait of a US-Bound Migrant Caravan.”, British Journal of Photography. London, United Kingdom.

“La Caravana del Diablo Exhibit Reveals Struggle, Hope of Mexico’s Caravans.”, Oklahoma City Free Press. Oklahoma City, OK, United States of America.

2020
“Ada Trillo.”, Catalyst Interviews. Los Angeles, CA, United States of America.

“Ada Trillo: La Caravana del Diablo.”, PHmuseum. Bologna, Italy.

“Border Photographer Ada Trillo at Noyes Museum Exhibition.”, New Jersey Stage. New Jersey, United States of America.

“The Migrants Trump Forced Mexico to Stop: Ada Trillo’s Best Photograph.”, The Guardian. London, United Kingdom.

“Ada Trillo: La Caravana del Diablo.”, Foto Femme United. Paris, France.

“La Caravana del Diablo: A Migrant Caravan in Mexico.”, The Guardian. London, United Kingdom.

“Female in Focus 2020: Photo Gallery.”, Vogue. Milan, Italy.

“Feature Photo, October 27.”, The Times. London, United Kingdom.

“Asylum Is Dead. The Myth of American Decency Died With It.”, Mother Jones. San Francisco, CA, United States of America.

“Photography Documentary + Fine Art.”, Red Canary Collective. Minneapolis, MN, United States of America.

La Caravana del Diablo, Docu Magazine. Helsinki, Finland

AAP Magazine #10 Portrait Merit Award, All About Photo Magazine. Los Angeles, United States

Black Lives Matter, Lens Magazine. Tel Aviv, Israel

Migrant Caravan 2020, Lens Magazine. Tel Aviv, Israe

“What Will You Remember? — Remarkable Images from Critical Mass.”, Critical Mass. Portland, OR, United States of America.

2019

“The Best Photography of Cortona on the Move Festival.”, The Guardian. London, United Kingdom.

“Journeys.”, British Journal of Photography, Issue 7886. London, United Kingdom.

“La Caravana.”, Cortona On The Move Magazine, p. 22. Cortona, Italy.

“Tokyo International Foto Awards Winner Interview.”, Tokyo International Foto Awards. Tokyo, Japan.

“Fleisher Welcomes Leeway Artist-in-Residence Ada Trillo.”, Fleisher Art Memorial. Philadelphia, PA,
United States of America.

“Migrant Caravan Photographer Saw Heart-Wrenching Scenes Through Her Lens.”, HuffPost. New York, NY, United States of America.

“A Philly Photographer’s Wrenching Images of the Migrant Caravan.”, Philadelphia Magazine. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

“Philly Photographer Ada Trillo Presents Photos of Migrant Experience at UArts.”, Generocity. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

“The Best Photography of Cortona on the Move Festival.”, The Guardian. London, United Kingdom.

“Journeys.”, British Journal of Photography, August 2019 Issue. London, United Kingdom.

“La Caravana.”, Cortona On The Move Magazine. Cortona, Italy.

“If Walls Could Speak: Ada Trillo Gives a Voice to the Voiceless in New Exhibit.”, Artfix Daily Artwire. United States of America.

“Q&A: Ada Trillo.”, Strange Fire Collective. Los Angeles, CA, United States of America.

“As Trump Marches on with Border Demands, a Philly Photographer’s View of the Migrant Caravan Stuck in Mexico.”, The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

2018
“Ada Trillo’s ‘Chasing Freedom’ Exhibit Presents a View into the Lives, Struggles, and Strengths of Central American Migrants.”, Al Día. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

2017
“Dark Travels in Mexico’s Skin Trade: Twenty-Two Gallery Presents Ada Trillo’s ‘How Did I Get Here?’”, Broad Street Review. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

“Heartbreaking Documentary Photographs by Ada Trillo at Twenty-Two Gallery.”, Artblog. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

“Philly Artist Q&A: An Exhibition on the Struggles of Mexican Sex Workers.”, Billy Penn. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

“How Did I Get Here?: Philadelphia Artist Chronicles Secret Lives of Sex Workers.”, NBC10. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.

AFFILIATIONS
Tom & Ethel Bradley Center, California State University, Northridge. Northridge, CA, United States of America
Diversify Photo – Global network for photographers of color. New York, United States of America
The West Collection – Supporting socially engaged artists. Oaks, United States of America
Fleisher Art Memorial – Residency alum. Philadelphia, United States of America
Center for Emerging Visual Artists – Fellowship recipient. Philadelphia, United States of America

COLLECTIONS
Library of Congress. Washington, DC, United States of America
Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Houston, TX, United States of America
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America
Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH, United States of America
James A. Michener Art Museum. Doylestown, PA, United States of America
Los Angeles Museum of Social Justice. Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
University of Oklahoma – Melton Gallery. Norman, OK, United States of America
The West Collection. Oaks, PA, United States of America
University of Pennsylvania Law School. Philadelphia, PA, United States of America
Fenix Museum of Migration. Rotterdam, Netherlands
Private collections internationally. International