Stephen DiRado
Professor of Practice, Visual and Performing Arts
Gallery Director, Visual and Performing Arts
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Stephen DiRado is a professor in the Visual and Performing Arts Department, Clark University. He is a photographer and filmmaker whose art is primarily inspired by his captivation and admiration for the people in his community. His scrupulously skilled photographs portray the underlying intimacy of individuals and the interactions within group dynamics. His films are narratives and commentaries about the people in his life. Working within this genre, he has produced numerous portfolios: Past works include his Bell Pond Series, Mall Series, Dinner Series and JUMP. His present work includes, With Dad, Martha’s Vineyard Series, Celestial Series, In the Present Day, and Across the Table. His independent films include With Dad, Summer Spent and JUMP. The internationally prized Bob and Diane Fund awarded DiRado support the book With Dad published by Davis Publications in 2019. DiRado is a six-time recipient of major fellowships that include the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Massachusetts Artist Foundation and a NEFA/NEA Fellowship. His work is published around the world in books and magazines and can be found in museum permanent collections across the USA, including the MFA, Boston and MFA, Houston. He also has been featured in the Washington Post, NPR, Black and White Photography magazine, Business Insider and Vice Magazine. The doc-film With Dad, a collaboration with filmmaker Soren Sorensen is a six-time award winning film including New York City Independent Film Festival and Massachusetts Independent Film Festival Best Documentary Short.
With Dad, 2020, a 30-minute documentary film, director/producer Soren Sorensen. A narrative history, Stephen DiRado talking about the project With Dad; twenty years documenting his father succumbing to Alzheimer’s.
Summer Spent is a 2012, 38-minute documentary film. It highlights photographer Stephen DiRado over a five-year period living with and photographing the subculture of a clothing-optional-beach on Martha’s Vineyard. It is also a whimsical and existential film about DiRado's struggle to hold onto his identify and purpose as an artist.
Across the Table, 2019, is a 3-minute silent short, music by composer Matt Malsky. A humorous film that deconstructs Stephen DiRado’s collaborative process in creating a narrative that emphasizes the tempo of activities of friends and family sharing drink, food and conversation around the table.
JUMP, 2016, is a 21-minute silent documentary film, music composed by Matt Malsky. Stephen DiRado films and painstakingly edits together a montage of people jumping off of a bridge located on Martha’s Vineyard. The result is a lyrical and intimate film depicting a vast community of beach goers participating in this summer ritual.
Link to Summer Spent Trailer: https://youtu.be/T3drgZgJcH8
Link to JUMP: https://youtu.be/cxSuEcS1k6A
Link to With Dad: https://www.wgbh.org/program/with-dad/with-dadDegrees
- B.F.A., Massachusetts College of Art, 1981
Affiliated Department(s)
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Scholarly and Creative Works
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Visual Consultant, editor, and creative designer, Theatrical film, Title: The Participants
The Participants
April
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2022
Independent Producer, Clark U. Theater Professor Raymond Munro
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Clark University
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Theatrical Opera: A Dill Pickle
Theater, Opera
Brick Box Theater
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Worcester, MA
Oct. 15, 2022
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Stephen DiRado and Soren Sorensen, With Dad book and With Dad Doc film.
WISE
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Assumption College, Worcester, MA
Fall
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2021
Sponsored by Assumption College, Worcester Institute for Senior Education, (WISE)
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interview by Aaron Schachter with Soren Sorensen and Stephen DiRado, subject: documentary film and book With Dad
WGBH Radio, Boston
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WGBH Radio, Boston
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2021
Sponsored by WGBH TV
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Alzheimer’s News Today
Alzheimer's Internet Magazine
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2021
Alzheimer's News
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“Secrets of the Night” Curated by Susanne Revy and Elin Spring.
Photographs
What Will You Remember, Internet Magazine
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New England Based
Dec. 18, 2021
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Exh, Let America, Curated by Erin Carey.
Photographs
Photographic Resource Center,
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Cambridge, MA
May. 14, 2022
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Photography Views, Reviews and Interviews
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2021
Venus Premium Magazine, Elin Spring
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New York City Independent Film Festival, Soren Sorensen/Stephen DiRado, With Dad
Documentary Film
New York City Independent Film Festival
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USA
Jun. 1, 2021
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Red Dirt Film Festival, Stillwater, OK, Soren Sorensen/Stephen DiRado, With Dad. Winner: Best Documentary Short.
Documentary Film
International Film Fest.
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USA
Apr. 1, 2021
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Stephen DiRado: Cornered During Virus Times
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2020
Artscope Magazine
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WPKZ Radio, Central New England, Travis Condon/On the Air, Interview: With Dad book & Film
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2020
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WPKZ Radio, Central New England, Travis Condon/On the Air, Interview: During Virus Time.
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2020
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With Dad
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2020
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Issue #Art & Culture
The Conversation
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Housatonic Museum of Art, Summer Spent, 39 min film
Documentary Film
Housatonic Museum of Art
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Bridgeport, CT
Dec. 15, 2020
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Houston International Film Festival, Soren Sorensen/Stephen DiRado, With Dad. Awarded Gold Remi, Documentary Short Subject.
Documentary Film
Houston International Film Festival, Soren Sorensen/Stephen DiRado, With Dad. Awarded Gold Remi, Documentary Short Subject.
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TX
Oct. 1, 2020
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Rhode Island International 38th Film Festival: Soren Sorensen/Stephen DiRado, With Dad. Winner, 2020 Youth Award.
Documentary Film
Rhode Island International 38th Film Festival
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RI
Sep. 30, 2021
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Massachusetts Independent Film Festival, Soren Sorensen/Stephen DiRado, With Dad. Winner, 2020 Best Short Documentary Film.
Documentary Film
Massachusetts Independent Film Festival
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MA
Nov. 25, 2020
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Mystic Film Festival: Soren Sorensen/Stephen DiRado, With Dad. Grand Jury Prize. Documentary Short
Documentary FIlm
Mystic Film Festival
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CT
Nov. 1, 2020
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Housatonic Museum of Art, Soren Sorensen/Stephen DiRado, With Dad
Documentary Film
Housatonic Museum of Art, Bridgeport, CT
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Bridgeport, CT
Dec. 15, 2021
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