Willard Pate was born and spent a good portion of her formative years in Hawkinsville, GA. She received her Ph.D in English from Emory University in Atlanta.
By profession, Willard Pate is a Professor of English at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. By advocation, she is a photographer. She has studied with a number of mentors, most notably Craig Stevens of Savannah College of Art and Design and Ernesto Bazan, internationally recognized photographer. Since 2001, she has travelled extensively with Mr. Bazan to Cuba, Sicily, Argentina, Peru, and Brazil.
For over thirty years, Pate's photographs have been exhibited and collected, both in the US and abroad including: Texas Photographic Society; Soho Gallery, NYC; National Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado; Atlanta Photography Group Gallery; Spoleto Festival in Charleston; Roe Art Gallery at Furman University; SxSE on-line gallery; and the PHOTO REVIEW.
Willard Pate shoots exclusively with black and white film. All prints are made to archival standards on silver gelatin fine art papers. She has work in private collections as well as the permanent collections of Furman University, Hartsfield Jackson International Airport and MOCA GA.
Selected Recent Publications and Exhibits:
2014
Five of Pate's photographs were finalists in the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards and were exhibited at the 2016 Gala
Gala Awards show in Berlin.
2015
Bazan Photos Publishing, NY produced her first book with animals, a curated collection of images which span fifteen years, several countries and explore the human/animal bond. with animals was printed in Exton, PA by Brilliant.
volume FIVE POINTS- a Journal of Literature and Art - published by Georgia State University featured several images from her book.
2016
December - March 2017 sixteen images from with animals were featured in a solo show in the atrium of the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport.
2017
In response to her book, Pate was interviewed for a feature in LEICA FOTOGRAFIE INTERNATIONAL, the interview and a portfolio of images was published in the March 2017 issue.
A portfolio of 13 prints was selected by Anette Cone Skelton for the permanent collection of Museum of Contemporary Art, Georgia (MOCA)
One-person exhibition of 45 images at Pace Academy, Atlanta, GA
2019
Pate was invited to participate in The Gala Awards show in Barcelona
