Derek Slagle, Ph.D., M.S. (he/him/his) is an American documentary and fine-art film photographer, based in Little Rock, Arkansas, covering narratives primarily in the Southern and Midwestern areas of the United States. His photographic work has expanded to partnerships with nonprofits and governmental entities for documentation of science of conservation practices. His work is exhibited broadly (i.e., museums, publications, and exhibitions) and he was selected as a 2023 Catalyze grant recipient from the Mid-America Arts Alliance.

Permanent Collections:

  • Arkansas Arts Council & Arkansas Heritage

Recent grants/ fellowships:

  • 2023 Catalyze Grant: Mid-America Arts Alliance & Windgate Foundation

Featured Exhibitions:

Solo Exhibitions:

Group Exhibitions:

  • 2025 Arkansas Heritage/ Arkansas Arts Council Small Works on Paper exhibition

  • Snapshot: Climate. Carolina Public Humanities and the North Caroliniana Society

    • (2024, February-March) Pitt Community College, Greenville, North Carolina

    • (2024, March) College of the Albemarle’s Professional Arts Gallery, Maneo, NC

    • (2024, June) Barrier Islands Center, Monchipango, VA

    • (2024, August-September) Emory and Henry College McGlothlin Center for the Arts Gallery, Emory VA

    • (2024, November - December) Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts with the University of North Alabama, Florence, AL

    • (2025, January-February) Center for the Study of Southern Culture, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS

  • Derek Slagle, Vince Griffin, & Justin Harrel: Rose City (2024, December - 2025, January) North Little Rock Library Gallery, North Little Rock, AR.

  • 2024 International Juried Exhibition ( 2024, November - December) Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA

  • Environmental Challenges and Paradises (2024, July-August) Decagon Gallery, Virtual.

  • Naturalist Gallery Photography Collection (2024, May-July) Naturalist Gallery of Contemporary Art, Online Exhibition

  • Earth First National Juried Exhibition (2024, April-June) The Floyd Center for the Arts, Hayloft Gallery Exhibit, Floyd, VA

  • 10th Annual Allegany National Photography Competition & Exhibition (2024, March- April) Allegany Arts Council, Cumberland, MD.

  • 2024 National Juried Exhibition at Gallery 130 (2024, March-April) University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS.

  • 2024 Arkansas Heritage/ Arkansas Arts Council Small Works on Paper exhibition.

  • The Magic Silver Show: The Elena Diane Curris Juried Photomedia Exhibition 2023. (2023, September-October) Murray State University, The Clara M. Eagle Gallery, Murray, KY

  • Snapshot: Climate. Mellon Foundation’s Coasts, Climates, the Humanities, and the Environment Consortium, Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2023, May-December) Chapel Hill, NC.

  • 2022 Arkansas Heritage/ Arkansas Arts Council Small Works on Paper exhibition.

  • (2021) Arts and Science Center of Southeast Arkansas: Irene Rosenzeig Biennial Juried Exhibition, Pine Bluff, Arkansas

  • (2021) Summer 2021 Fridge Show, The Curated Fridge, Virtual

  • (2020) 62nd Annual Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts: Delta Exhibition, Virtual

  • (2020) Adobe Government Creativity Awards, Virtual

  • (2019) Slow Exposures: Celebrating Photography of the Rural South, Zebulon Georgia

  • (2015) Current Works. Kansas City Society for Contemporary Photography. Kansas City, MO

  • (2015) 4 Square Kansas City Artists Coalition. Kansas City, MO.

  • (2011) Project Medishare - Haiti Art Basel Miami. Miami, FL

  • (2009) Phoenix Magazine Art Show. UC Concourse Gallery. University of Tennessee Visual Arts Committee and the Central Programming Council. Knoxville, TN

Recent awards:

  • 2nd place award - (2024) 2024 International Juried Exhibition Center for Photographic Art

  • 2nd place award, Monochrome - (2024) 10th Annual Allegany National Photography Competition & Exhibition

  • 3rd place award, Best in Show - (2024) National Juried Exhibition at Gallery 130 - University of Mississippi Department of Art & Art History

Select Media Highlights:

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