Honoring a mentor who shaped a generation of photographers
Professor of Practice Stephen DiRado received the 35th ArtsWorcester Award for his artistic and cultural contributions to Worcester. In response, former students tagged years of photography with #madewithstephen — a spontaneous, citywide testament to a teaching career measured in careers it helped launch.
“I have no idea if I would even have a photography career if he wasn’t my professor,” says New York photographer Diana Levine ’07, whose work spans major musicians and public figures. “I remember clearly feeling like his courses were as close to magic as I’d ever experienced.” Decades of students, one shared hashtag, one professor whose influence keeps showing up in other people’s work.
