Let me introduce myself, my name is Kassena Hillman. To answer your first question, so the story goes I was named after a cousin whose father made up the name. I have been told through the years that Kassena is the name of a Russian card game, a district in New York (different spelling), the name of a star system, and most recently the name of a people and language in Ghana. All of them, thanks to Google, I have been able to prove so far with exception to the star system, bummer.

After receiving my bachelor’s degree in photography from Drexel University in 2004 I became the assistant facility manager for the Drexel University Photography Program. In 2005, while completing my Masters of Instruction, I started teaching photography and bookbinding courses at Drexel.

During this time I have continued to work independently on three main bodies of work. My ongoing Merged Series work as well as my landscape work of Germany has been exhibited in several museums and galleries in the Philadelphia region. Including the Philadelphia Sketch Club, Woodmere Art Museum, Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, and The Perkins Center for the Arts. My most recent work of roadsides and public spaces in New Zealand has also been included in an exhibition at the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia.