Education
2019 MFA Magna Cum Laude, Studio Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
2015 BA Cum Laude, Fine Arts & Humanities, Milligan College, Elizabethton, TN
Teaching Experience
2021 – Present; Adjunct Instructor, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College (SKCTC), Cumberland, KY
Courses Taught: Introduction to Art, Digital Photography I, Digital Photography II, Instruction at the Harlan County Detention Center in before mentioned courses taught
2019 – 2021; Adjunct Professor, Milligan College, School of Arts & Humanities, Milligan College, TN
Courses Taught: Basic Photography, Intermediate Photography, Introduction to Color Photography, Directed Studies in Photography, History of Photography, Photojournalism, Senior Photography Exhibitions, Design Fundamentals
2017 – 2019; Instructor of Record, University of Georgia, Lamar Dodd School of Art, Athens, GA
Courses Taught: Introduction to Photography and Image Culture, Instructor of Record of Video Concepts & Practice, Introduction to Black and White Photography, UGA Summer Academy Instructor in Cameraless Photography
Professional Experience
2023 – Present; Television Producer & Media Specialist, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College (SKCTC), Cumberland, KY
Crafts comprehensive and tangible video products, translating concepts into captivating visuals. Specializes in producing, directing, and editing video projects tailored for the college, community organizations, and access channels. Collaborates with marketing and PR teams, managing SKCTC's social media presence. Provides academic support with video & audio production requests, and trains colleagues on incorporating video in various platforms.
2022 – 2023; Community Engagement Coordinator for Harlan County, Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network, Lexington, KY
Led projects related to water systems, collaborated with communities concerning climate change resilience, led projects on funding infrastructure, led projects surrounding agroforestry, and researched land management. Documented under told oral and visual histories, led grant writing, and technical art-making workshops. Utilized creative placemaking to bring the community together and supplemented research for regional projects.
2016 – 2019; Graduate Assistant, University of Georgia Public Service and Outreach Department – Archway Partnership; Lamar Dodd School of Art, Athens, GA
Documented communities throughout the entire state of Georgia with an emphasis on public service for the Archway Partnership. Darkroom technician, digital lab specialist, and lighting studio specialist for the Lamar Dodd School of Art.
2019 – 2020 & 2015 –2016; Artist in Residence, Milligan College, Fine Arts Department, Elizabethton, TN
Curated art shows, classroom lecturer, maintained darkroom and gallery space, documented fine arts events, managed the fine arts webpage and social media.
2012 – 2015; Photography Department Work Study, Milligan College Photography Department, Elizabethton, TN
Helped with basic black and white photography courses, darkroom maintenance, lecture assistant, help teach students how to develop film and enlarge photographs, critiqued students' work.
Awards/Grants/Fellowships
2023 Jack Schrader Award at the 11th Annual International FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social & Politically Engaged Art
2022 – 2023 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Teaching in Prison Program at the Harlan County Detention Center, Harlan, KY
2020 Curator’s Merit Award, Dolly: P/N 35 National Juried Art Exhibition, East Tennessee State University
2019 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, University of Georgia
2019 Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society
2015 Academic Award: Most Outstanding Fine Arts Student Milligan College
2012, 2013 Photographer’s Forum Magazine Photography Contest Finalist
2012 – 2015 Dean’s List, Milligan College
2012–2015 Milligan College Juried Art Show Awards of Merit and Excellence
2009 Eagle Scout Award
Selected Exhibition Record
Solo
2021 Hidden Appalachia, 328 Trilby Place – Atlanta, GA
2019 William Major & The Loose Balloons, King of Hearts Salon – Johnson City, TN
2019 Fighting for Recognition, Derthick Art Gallery – Milligan College, Elizabethton, TN
2015 At War with the Ordinary, Derthick Art Gallery – Milligan College, Elizabethton, TN
2014 Camera Obscura, Derthick Art Gallery – Milligan College, Elizabethton, TN
Group
2024
Bless Your Heart: William Major, Zac Wilson, & Billie Wheeler, Curator: Zac Wilson & Aaron Free, 123 West Main Gallery – Johnson City, TN
HollerHouse 2024 Community Spotlight, Curator: Brian Serway, HollerHouse – Bristol, VA
2023
11th Annual International FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social & Politically Engaged Art, Curator: Adam DelMarcelle, Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University - Johnson City, TN
The Photo Review, Curator: Stephen Perloff. Online Exhibition, Langhorn, PA
Visit Harlan County First Street Outdoor Gallery, City of Harlan, Curator: Harlan County Tourism, Harlan, KY
2022
Rustbelt: REDUX, Vestige Concept Gallery – Pittsburgh, PA
19th Annual Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition, Curators: Julie Rae Powers & Byron Tenesaca. Turchin Center at Appalachian State – Boone, NC
2021
Houses of the Lord, Curator: Amy Shumaker. Smithsonian Birthplace of Country Music Museum – Bristol, VA
ArtFields Competition 2021 Participating Artist, ArtFields: Lake City Creative Alliance, Lake City, SC
2020
Too Tired for 2020, Curators: Kelly Burgess & Tara Wray. Digital Exhibition.
8th Annual International FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social & Politically Engaged Art, Curator: Carlton Wilkinson, Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University - Johnson City, TN
A Light in the Darkness, Las Laguna Gallery - Laguna Beach, CA
UTB The Mediums Series: Sound, Editor: Leia Genis. Under the Bridge Magazine. Digital Exhibition & Publication – Atlanta, GA
Dolly: P/N 35 National Juried Art Exhibition, Curator: Logan Lockner, Slocumb Galleries, East Tennessee State University - Johnson City, TN
2019
From These Hills: Contemporary Art in the Southern Appalachian Highlands, Curator: Rebecca Elliot, William King Museum of Art - Abingdon, VA
University of Georgia Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition, Curator: Katie Geha, The Deupree Building – Athens, GA
Looking at Appalachia, Curator: Roger May. Massillon Museum – Massillon, OH
Shutter Hub Open Traveling Exhibition, 5&33 Gallery – Amsterdam, NL
2018
David & Goliath: Small Works and Their Colossal Counterparts, Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation – Watkinsville, GA
Shutter Hub Open 2018, London Photo Month at The Old Truman Brewery Gallery – London, UK
Give Them the Slip, Juror: Wendy Vogel, bitforms gallery – New York City, NY
2017
Making Masters, Madison Museum of Fine Art – Madison, GA
5th Annual Knoxville Photo 2017, Juror: Baldwin Lee, Emporium Center – Knoxville, TN
Lyndon House Arts Center 42nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Juror: Susan Krane, Lyndon House Arts Center – Athens, GA
Out There! Photographs in the Spirit of Jeremy Ayers, Athens Institute for Contemporary Art – Athens, GA
2016
Locus – First Year MFA Exhibition, Jurors: Claire Dempster, Margaret Hankel, Bridge Gallery at the Lamar Dodd School of Art – University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Reliquaries: William Major & Guadalupe Navarro, Bridge Gallery at the Lamar Dodd School of Art – University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Pre-2016
Art from the Buffalo School, Nelson Fine Art Gallery – Johnson City, TN, February 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015
Milligan College Juried Art Exhibition, Derthick Art Gallery – Milligan College, April 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. Jurors: Becky Hope Mallory 2012, Sarah K. Davis 2013, Mary Barton Nees 2014, Tom and Peggy Root 2015
Selected Exhibitions Curated
2025 Appalachia/Armenia: Documents, Curator: William Major & Scout Tufankjian, Location TBD - Brooklyn, NY
2024 Higher Ground: The Photography Project, Curator: William Major, Belk Building - Harlan, KY
2023 Engaging the South, Curator: Joshua Harr & William Major, Tipton Gallery, East Tennessee State University - Johnson City, TN
2022 Harlan County Detention Center, Curator: Higher Ground & William Major, Godbey Galley, Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, Cumberland, KY
2020 Senior Online Photography Exhibition, Milligan Social Distancing Gallery, Milligan College, Elizabethton, TN
2019 Playing Possum, Five Bananas Gallery – Athens, GA
2018 Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, Five Bananas Gallery – Athens, GA
2017 South East Women Wrestlers, Curator: Kalena Stasiak & William Major, Gallery 101 Lamar Dodd School of Art – University of Georgia, Athens, GA
2016 Art from the Buffalo School, Dos Gatos Gallery, Milligan College, Johnson City, TN
Collections
The Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University, Durham, NC
Looking at Appalachia, Hamlin, WV
Ain’t Bad, Savannah, GA
University of Kentucky Press, Lexington, KY
The University of Georgia Art Library, Athens, GA
The Ohio State University Library, Columbus, OH
Milligan University, P.H. Welshimer Memorial Library, Elizabethton, TN
Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College Appalachian Archive, Cumberland, KY
Publications
Bless Your Heart. Review of Exhibition. Author: Robert Alan Grand. Publication: Burnaway. 2024.
The Wildcrafting Our Queerness Project. Artist Contributor. Author & Editor: Maxwell Cloe. 2024.
Queering Appalachia's Visual History: A Collection of Queer Appalachian Photographers. University of Kentucky Press. Photography Contributor. Editor & Author: Julie Rae Powers. 2023.
Outdoor Performances Explore Issues of Fracking and Climate Change. Yale University School of Public Health. Photography Contributor. 2022.
SEE-ZEEN, Online Photography contributor for Issue #1. 2021; Visual Dialogue with Dmitry Pechurin for Issue #2. 2021.
The New Yorker: A Survival Center Tries to Survive the Pandemic. Photography Contributor. Written by Oliver Whang - New York City, NY. 2021.
ICON & SPIRIT, Publisher & Editor, Co-Produced with Keila Lau-Lopez - Johnson City, TN. 2021.
Baby Faces & Heels: Art on Wrestling, Publisher & Editor, Co-Produced with Keila Lau-Lopez - Johnson City, TN. 2020.
UTB The Mediums Series: Sound. Artist Contributor. 2020.
Sparks, Ryan. Southern Glossary Winter Issue 2017. N.p. Issue No. 3. 2017. Print.
Johnson City Press. Milligan Student’s Slow Down the World. 2014
Major, William, Conti, Kingsolver, and Pollan: How Competitive Eating and the Slow Food Movement Can Create a New Food Dialogue, 3rd Edition. Champaign, IL: Common Grounds Publishing, December 2013. Print.
Visiting Artist Lectures/Presentations/Critiques/Workshops/Residency
2024
Workshop Live Event, Music Videos, SETV and Winthrop University, Professor Stephanie Sutton
2023
Workshop Residency, Documenting Family Graveyard’s Project, Coalition with Martin County Stories of Place, University of Kentucky & Professor Karen Rignall, Month of July
Curator Lecture, Engaging the South, Tipton Street Gallery, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, June 2
Workshop, Photography & Ethics, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC, May 28-June 1
Workshop, I am from, Martin County High School, Inez, KY, Coalition with Martin County Stories of Place, University of Kentucky & Professor Karen Rignall, March 6-10
2022
Classroom Lecture & Senior Critiques, Harlan County Detention Center, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Photography Department, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, October 18
Workshop Residency, Drone Training for Surveilling Mountaintop Removal Sites, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Fall 2022
Classroom Lecture, Visual Representation in Appalachia, Contemporary Art & Theater Department, Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV, March 12-14
Workshop, Arrowmont ArtReach Program, Harlan Center, Harlan, KY, March 7-11
2021
Residency, Shift Change: A 2020 Vision, Higher Ground, Harlan, KY March-May
Visiting Artist Lecture, William Major: Visual Literacy within the Digital Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Pikeville, Pikeville, KY, February 10
Classroom Lecture, Concerns and Ethics within Photography. Co-Presenter with Deepanjan Mukhopadhyay & Ally Christmas, Professor Ashley Feagin’s Special Topics Course, Albion College, Albion, MI, March 28
2020
Classroom Lecture & MFA Critiques, William Major: Ethics on Portraiture & Place, College of Visual and Performing Arts, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC, October 15
Artist Panel Lecture, Dolly: P/N 35 National Juried Art Exhibition, Ball Hall Gallery, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, February 17
2019
Artist Presentation, MFA Speaks, Lamar Dodd School of Art; University of Georgia, Athens, GA , April 25
Classroom Lecture & Critiques, History of Photography Lecture on Frederick Douglass, Professor Alice Anthony’s History of Photography Course, School of Arts and Humanities, Milligan College, Elizabethton, TN
2018
Artist Lecture, Annual Graduate Photography Lecture, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, November 2
2017
Artist Lecture, 42nd Juried Exhibition Lyndon House Arts Center, Athens, GA, April 12
Artist Lecture, Out There! Photographs in the Spirit of Jeremy Ayers, Athens Institute for Contemporary Art, Athens, GA, March 10
Artist Lecture, Archive Fever, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, March 20
2015
Presentation, History of Pinhole Photography, School of Arts and Humanities, Milligan College, Elizabethton, TN
2013
Conference Presentation, Competitive Eating and the Slow Food Movement, Third International Food Studies Conference, University of Texas, Austin, TX, October 16
Skills and Certificates
American Red Cross CPR and First Aid
CertificationCompletion Date: May 2024
Relevance: Ensures preparedness for safety and security while working on-site, particularly during field assignments, events, and in the classroom.
Drone Operation Training Part 107
Completion Date: August 2024
Relevance: Provides specialized skills in capturing aerial footage or photographs, relevant for instruction. Allows to be paid and to operate a SUA.
Adobe Certified Professional in Visual Design (Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Pro)
Completion Date: January 2024
Relevance: Certified by Adobe in post-production, editing, and teaching Adobe Creative Suite in these areas of lens based media.
Film Contributions
2025 And Water Brings Tomorrow, Directed by Ashely Hunt, Additional Footage Contributor and Interviewed, Screenings in Oakland, Los Angeles and Eastern Kentucky in Summer of 2025, Link to film
2023 Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky and Vera Institute, Directed by Lily Keber, Additional Footage Contributor and Interviewed, Link to film
Professional Organizations
Appalachian Studies Association (ASA), Huntington, WV
College Art Association (CAA), New York, NY
National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR), Albuquerque, NM
Society of Photographic Educators (SPE), Cleveland, OH