BIO

Sisc (Sissy) Stella L.D. Johnson spent most of her youth living throughout East Tennessee, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. She currently resides in Manassas, Virginia with her husband, Ben. Johnson received her Bachelor of Fine Arts, Arts & Visual Technology; Photography from the College of Visual and Performing Arts, George Mason University. Johnson is currently an MFA Photography candidate at Maine Media College, Rockport, ME (5/27), and she is an Executive MBA candidate at Quantic School of Business and Technology (5/26). Her work documents personal and shared experiences through photography and text to promote respect and compassion for self and others.

In 2021, Johnson was awarded a research grant from OSCAR to bring art to under served youth by teaching photography and text in alternative learning spaces. She partnered with Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court where she currently holds summer sessions teaching photography and text to youth detained in their boy’s probation house. In 2019 she was awarded a scholarship to participate in the Irina Rosovsky & Mark Steinmetz photography portfolio review, Position & Condition workshop in Athens, Georgia.

Johnson was a performance artist at The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian, for the artist, Katie Kehoe’s Artist and Climate Change (2019). She was appointed as a juror at the Regional Scholastic Arts Award, Fairfax County Public Schools (2022), and her work has been exhibited in group exhibits and art competitions in VA, MD, DC, and CA. Johnson won first place in two local exhibits in 2021 and 2019. Her work has been published in the CVPA Annual Report (2019-20) and in Artistonish Contemporary Art Magazine (2021).

Artist Statement

My work centers on my family but also reflects my experiences growing up. It is rooted in connection—whether it's with my family, bringing attention to important issues, uniting communities through photography, or sharing untold stories. I believe in the power of art to create change, and I'm committed to making a difference through my photography.