Little Rock, AR | Mentor: Bryan Schutmaat
Jacobb Nichol is a documentary photographer from Arkansas whose work explores growing up, identity, and belonging in the American South. Through long-term projects, he focuses on the people and places that are often overlooked, creating images built through relationships, trust, and shared experiences. His work examines themes of community, outsiders, memory, and the spaces of the the people he photographs
His photographs have been exhibited at Light Work and published in New South Volume 2 and Seezn Magazine.
“The Junior Fellowship gave me the time, support, and guidance to slow down and truly invest in the development of my work. It allowed me to look deeper into my process, refine my vision, and better understand how to create a meaningful body of work. The experience helped me grow not only as a photographer, but as an artist, giving me the confidence to continue pushing my ideas and developing my voice.”
-Jacobb Nichol | 2026 Junior Fellow
Project Statement
The Death of the Adolescent is an ongoing long-term project about growing up in the American South. The work came from wanting to better understand the people, places, and experiences that shaped my own life. Instead of looking for dramatic moments, I’m drawn to the ones that often go unnoticed: late nights, long drives, empty parking lots, bedrooms, back roads, and the conversations that happen in between. These are the places where life is actually lived, where people drop the mask and are able to be themselves.
I’m drawn to people who are considered outsiders, people who are overlooked or misunderstood. The project is built around the places that made me feel at home and the communities that exist on the margins of mainstream society
The Death of the Adolescent is about the moment when the world you grew up in begins to change. It looks at the places and memories that shape us before we have fully figured out who we are or where we stand in the world. It asks who we become as we grow older, what dangers lie ahead, and how some people lose their way, allowing their ambitions to slip quietly into the background as they confront the harsher realities of the world around them.
2026 Junior Fellows: Yuhan Cheng | Brayan Enriquez | Claire Kosky | Jacobb Nichol | Avery Norman | Dahveed Wilkins