Biography

Amy_photo_by_Sofia

Photographer and educator, Amy Thompson Avishai, is known for her sensitive, spare and nuanced portrayals of people from all walks of life and of the natural world.  

A Fulbright fellow, Amy has taught photography at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Griffin Museum of Photography and Endicott College. 

Her images have appeared newspapers, magazines and literary journals, including, The New York Times, The Women’s Review of Books and she was featured in National Geographic. 

Her photos have been recognized by Paris Photo Prize, Photolucida's Critical Mass Top 50 Photographers, the Julia Margaret Cameron Award, and others.  

Group and solo shows include; Investing in Women and Girls, World Bank (Washington, DC), Within These Walls: Educating Girls in Rural Morocco, Simon Guggenheim Library (New Jersey), CONNECTIONS, U.S. Fulbright alumni (Washington, DC), On the Outside, Berlin Blue Art Gallery (Germany).  

Most recently, she was one of 100+ women invited to participate in A Yellow Rose Project, a photographic collaboration about the 19th Amendment. The project, an ongoing exhibition, will soon be published as a book. 

Amy was raised in North Africa, the Middle East, Europe and North America. She is currently based in Western Massachusetts and dedicates her time to teaching Mindfulness Photography workshops, classes and retreats.  

Amy's mindfulness practice began in 2002 while photographing in Cambodia. In 2023, Amy graduated from a two-year intensive Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, in partnership with the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California at Berkeley. 

(photo by Sofia Thompson Avishai)