“My photographs reflect the deep spiritual and cultural essence of the Chicano experience.” —Louis Carlos Bernal

The Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona proudly presents Louis Carlos Bernal: Retrospective, a landmark bilingual exhibition celebrating the legacy of one of the most influential photographers in 20th-century America. On view from September 14, 2024, to March 15, 2025, this retrospective honors Louis Carlos Bernal, a pioneering Chicano photographer and a revered figure in Tucson’s arts community.
Curated by Elizabeth Ferrer, former chief curator at BRIC in Brooklyn, Retrospective is the first major exhibition to comprehensively examine Bernal’s career. Featuring 120 photographs and 29 archival objects from the CCP’s collection, the exhibition showcases the depth and breadth of Bernal’s artistic vision.
“Bernal is a groundbreaking figure in the history of photography. He was the first Chicano to work with the camera as an artist, and the first to create a sustained body of work reflecting the values and spirituality of Mexican Americans in the Southwest. His work deserves to be more broadly recognized in the history of twentieth-century American photography,” Ferrer said.
Born in Douglas, Arizona, Bernal began his career in the early 1970s during the height of the Chicano civil rights movement. His work focused on capturing the resilience, cultural richness, and spiritual identity of Mexican Americans living in the barrios of Tucson and the American Southwest. His photographs, often intimate portraits of individuals and families, resonate with a deep sense of connection to his subjects and their surroundings.
Retrospective highlights Bernal’s extraordinary versatility, featuring his iconic barrio portraits, early experimental pieces, photographs from his trips to Mexico, previously unseen images from Cuba, and his documentation of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. “My images speak of the religious and family ties I have experienced as a Chicano,” Bernal once said. “I have concerned myself with the mysticism of the Southwest and the strength of the spiritual and cultural values of the barrio.”
In addition to his artistic achievements, Bernal was a dedicated educator. He founded the photography program at Pima Community College in 1972, where he taught for 17 years, shaping the careers of countless students and fostering a legacy of Chicanx representation in the arts.
The Louis Carlos Bernal Collection at the CCP, comprising 1,200 prints, project records, and materials from Bernal’s life and career, was donated by the artist’s daughters in 2014. This retrospective was made possible by a $255,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to develop the exhibition and its companion publication. Additional support from Bank of America has enabled the CCP to organize a series of community programs celebrating Bernal’s commitment to Chicanx culture and representation.
The exhibition reaffirms Bernal’s place as a visionary artist who reshaped the understanding of Chicano life and culture through his evocative and enduring photography.