Casey Kelbaugh has been documenting, participating in and shaping New York City culture for over 20 years. His wide-ranging experience as a photographer, deep roots in the art world and lifelong passion for building community are the foundation of Casey Kelbaugh Associates. CKA represents the convergence of the various elements that have defined both his career and his contributions to the cultural community.

Casey spent his early years in Princeton, NJ, but was primarily raised in Seattle, WA by a sprawling family of architects. Before and during his time at Middlebury College, Casey’s interest lay in drawing, painting, writing and woodblock printing. While living in Tokyo shortly thereafter, he discovered photography in earnest and never looked back.

His subsequent travels in Southeast Asia brought with them a nasty bout of malaria, returning him stateside. Back in Seattle, he took several courses at the Photocenter Northwest, assisted a wide array of photographers and began shooting for a number of high-profile local clients and publications.

Frustrated a the lack of community and creative exchange in the art community, Casey hosted a slideshow of his and fellow artist’s work and a potluck dinner in his tiny yard and called it Slideluck Potshow. The alchemy created when friends, colleagues and strangers shared personal recipes, broke bread together and sat down to enjoy a diverse series of short slideshows - curated around a unifying theme - was unmistakable.

In the fall of 2003, Casey made the leap to New York City in pursuit of greater opportunities as a photographer. Within a few months, he found himself working on large commercial advertising campaigns, shooting multiple assignments per week for The New York Times and represented by WPN, a buzzy agency for documentary photographers.

Despite higher stakes opportunities for publication, exhibition, and commercial success in NYC, the sense of community again felt lacking. The realms of the art, photography, media, performance and advertising were segmented, siloed and stilted. Though near in physical proximity, these worlds operated in isolation from each other, with cross-pollination being more of an exception than the rule.

Unable to find anything that approximated the level of authentic cohesion, creative interpretation and genuine inclusivity that he found in the 20 Slideluck gatherings he hosted around Seattle, Casey decided to test the waters with a slideshow potluck in his East Village apartment in the winter of 2004. In this pre-social media dawn, the response was immediate, palpable and clear: people were hungry for more than just the home-cooked food - they wanted the opportunity to share with and consume the work of those around them.

Within a year, what started with 150 people became 1000. As word spread, the press took note and creatives from cities around the world began inviting Slideluck to their communities. Operating out of his apartment and with the help of countless brilliant volunteers and staff, Casey and the Slideluck team formed a nonprofit organization in 2009, dedicated to building and strengthening community through food and art. Photographers from their community had already been volunteering their time with the Slideluck Youth Initiative for several years - teaching kids photography and multimedia storytelling skills in unserved areas of NYC, Los Angeles and elsewhere.

As social media and connectivity began to link people and communities around the world, Slideluck was doing it in real time. Without any semblance of a road map or playbook, Casey and his team formed a global network and began providing curatorial, technical and strategic support for local chapters and regional directors that produced recurring Slideluck events in over 100 cities globally. Several months of each year were devoted to extended trips to launch and support chapters throughout Europe, South America and Asia. This ecosystem was supported by a mixture of local grants, corporate sponsors and gala fundraisers. Adding to his roles as executive director and chief curator, Casey was tasked with working closely with Slideluck’s more established artists, their galleries and auction houses to coordinate large auctions.

In parallel, Casey’s regular photography assignments for The New York Times kept him in regular contact with the artists, art fairs and cultural pioneers driving things forward. In 2019, he was tapped to photograph a number of globally-recognized artists in their studios as they demonstrated simple, crafty projects of creative expression. The result was a coffee table book published by Phaidon called OPEN STUDIO which was released during the peak of the Covid lockdown and quickly became a runaway success.

Coming out of the pandemic, Casey decided to focus his photographic efforts more fully on where he felt most engaged, comfortable and connected: the worlds of arts and culture. As demand for services outgrew the limitations of time and space, he began to bring in trusted collaborators, talented contributors from his Slideluck network and those whose work he admired - and thus, Casey Kelbaugh Associates was born.

SELECTED PRESS & PUBLICATIONS
2024 - The New York Times - The Long Path
2020 – VOGUE – OPEN STUDIO
2020 – La Repubblica – OPEN STUDIO
2020 – Airmail – OPEN STUDIO
2020 – W Magazine – OPEN STUDIO
2020 – ARTnews – OPEN STUDIO
2020 – OPEN STUDIO – Contemporary Artist DIY Projects (Phaidon)
2020 – On The Horn – Online Interview
2020 – Artnet – Six Feet Away – Distancing in the Catskills
2020 – Quoted Magazine – Catskills Quarantine Interview
2019 – L’Oeil de la Photographie – Quetico
2019 – Nowhere Magazine – Crossing Quetico
2019 – Born to Party/Forced to Work – Phaidon Book Publication
2018 – Quoted Magazine – Cover Interview
2017 – 50 Years of New York – Book Publication
2016 – We Love NYC Interview
2016 – Capturing Manhattanhenge – Land Rover
2016 – Staff Meals of the World – Slideluck Lunchshow
2015 – PhotoOp Interview
2015 – Artist Think Interview
2015 – House Seven – Soho House Istanbul Interview
2015 – Revista A La Moda Interview – Dominican Republic
2015 – Feature Shoot – Spring Break Miami
2015 – Adhesive Blog Interview
2015 – Amy&Pink Germany – Spring Break Miami
2014 – Huffington Post Interview
2014 – The New Yorker
2014 – Global Influencer Podcast Interview
2013 – Bushwick Daily Video Interview
2013 – Project Inkblot Interview
2013 – Part Magazine Interview – Colombia
2013 – Bedford + Bowery Interview
2012 – The Washington Post
2011 – Heritage Radio Network Interview
2011 – PMc Magazine Interview
2011 – WNYU Interview
2011 – De Volkskrant Review – Netherlands
2011 – Kunst Magazine – Germany
2010 – Resource TV Interview
2010 – Popular Photography Feature
2008 – Bloomberg TV – The Muse
2008 – WNYC – Brian Lehrer Show
2008 – Radio Nacional de Colombia
2007 – The New York Times
2007 – Pixtura Pixel, Brazil – Interview
2006 – Popular Photography
2005 – TimeOut New York

WRITING
2024 - The New York Times - The Long Path
2015 – The New York Times – Penthouse Underground
2015 – Nowhere Magazine – Venice Biennale
2014 – The New York Times – Iouri Podladtchikov Piece
2014 – GOOD Magazine – Josefine Campbell Nomination
2013 – Satellite Transmission – Belonging to Photography
2012 – Resource Magazine – Suprise, Surprise: It’s Who You Know
2010 – Middlebury Magazine – How to Take a Damn Good Picture
2001 – Beyond the Border – Stories of Young Travelers

AWARDS & RECOGNITION
2020 – Dead Sea Museum Photography Competition – Judge
2018 – ASMP Fine Art Portfolio Reviews – Reviewer
2017 – Tokyo International Photo Awards – Juror
2017 – Autumnal Exhibit – Arthouse.NYC – Juror
2015 – Going Pro eBook – Featured Photographer
2015 – EyeEm Photography Festival & Awards – Juror
2015 – Casa Sin Fin Photography Competition – Juror
2015 – GOOD Magazine – Photo Editor
2014 – Brooklyn Museum – Guest Lecturer
2014 – Scholastic Art & Writing Awards – Photography Juror
2014 – Rolling Stone – Argentina
2013 – Reader’s Digest – Guest Curator
2013 – PDNedu Annual Photo Contest – Juror
2013 – Luceo Student Project Award – Judge
2012 – Asian American Arts Alliance – Panelist
2012 – ASMP Fine Art Portfolio Reviews – Reviewer
2012 – Eyeist – Portfolio Reviewer
2012 – Slideluck Youth Initiative – Teaching Artist
2011 – School of Visual Arts – Photography MFA Guest Lecturer
2011 – Apex Art – Unsolicited Proposal Program Reviewer
2011 – ASMP Fine Art Portfolio Reviews – Reviewer
2010 – Photo NOLA , New Orleans – Lecture
2010 – Guinness World Record – Organized Largest Potluck Dinner
2008 – Oficina Da Luz, São Paulo – Lecture
2007 – Gitana Rosa Gallery, Brooklyn – Group Show
2007 – PDN World in Focus Travel Photo Contest – 1st Place, Snaps
2006 – Jen Bekman – Hey, Hot Shot! Award
2006 – International Color Photography Award – Fine Art
2005 – Altpick Awards – Travel Photography
2003 – Society of Professional Journalists – 1st Place Photo Essay
2002 – Real Change, Seattle – Outstanding Photography Award
2001 – Photographic Center NW, Seattle – Travel Photography Panelist
1998 – International Travel Exposition, Seattle – 1st Place Adventure

EXHIBITIONS
2020 – Telephone – Participating Artist
2015 – The Telephone Project – Participating Artist
2015 – The Reflected Eye, New York, Group Show
2014 – BAM, Brooklyn – Visuals for Satellite Collective Performance
2012 – White Box, New York – Postcards to Ai Weiwei
2012 – A Day.org, France, Denmark, Taiwan – Global Photo Exhibit
2008 – Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn – Group Show
2007 – Fountain Art Fair, Miami – Exhibiting Artist
2007 – Heart Gallery, New York – Group Show
2006 – Humble Arts Foundation – Group Show #2
2006 – James Cohan Gallery, New York – Postcards from the Edge
2004 – Artists Space, New York – Night of 1000 Drawings
2004 – Plan B, New York – Group Portraiture Show
2002 – Vital 5 Productions, Seattle – Diptychs Group Show
2001 – King County Public Health Center, Seattle – Solo Exhibit
1997 – Tokyo Metropolitan Museum – International Artist’s Exhibition

EDUCATION
1998 – Photographic Center NW - Selected Courses
1997 – Tokyo PhotoWorkshops
1996 – Middlebury College – B.A. Psychology