About Giada Gallo

Giada Gallo is a Tucson native who has been photographing since she took her first class in seventh grade. Gallo has a background in other forms of art including painting, drawing, and printmaking, and credits these early beginnings to her mother who used to stone sculpt, teach art and presently makes jewelry. Her grandfather, who bought all the art supplies Gallo wanted, taught her the basics of drawing. Her father’s appreciation of art and interest in history encouraged her to pursue art within a socio-historical context. Gallo proceeded to make art with a connection to recording history and current events in our society today. Gallo first expressed interest in documentary photography when she produced a series of portraits for a Pima Community College photography class in 1999. Documentary photography was a way of recording a visual history; this was something that connected a historical event to the photograph. The series was a documentation of various street kids who Gallo was acquainted with through the punk music scene. Gallo intended to capture a slice of their lives, in turn, she learned immensely from these individuals and it acted as a catalyst for her next series.

For two years, Gallo turned her focus to painting and drawing, and then embarked upon her next photo documentary series. Gallo’s curiosity for the transport industry led her to inquire more about the lives of truck drivers. Parking herself at the Triple T Truck Stop, just outside of Tucson, Gallo began to approach drivers to ask to take their photograph. The subjects varied and some would share snippets of life on the road with Gallo expanding her knowledge of the industry.

After graduating from the University of Arizona in May 2000 with a BFA, in painting, drawing and photography, Gallo worked for the National Park Service from 2000 to 2006. She was responsible for archiving and cataloging various historic administrative and photographic collections. Gallo traveled for the Park Service extensively throughout the Western United States taking her everywhere from Utah to Hawaii. These opportunities for travel allowed Gallo to challenge herself in the arenas of landscape photography and self-portraiture. During this time, Gallo shared a studio/gallery space with three other colleagues.

From 2001 to 2005 Gallo and her studio mates ran Infusion Gallery. They held art openings and used the space to produce their artwork. After closing Infusion gallery in 2005, and quitting the Park Service in 2006, Gallo decided to pursue a Masters of Art in Art Education and Visual Culture Studies; she was following her initial desire to teach art.

Gallo has since graduated with a Masters of Art at the University of Arizona in 2008. During her time at the University, Gallo had been a Teaching Assistant for various Art Education classes. Gallo, recently married, continues to explore new means of experimentation in her photographic pursuits. Currently Gallo is a digital photography instructor at Empire High School in the Vail Unified School District.