Jill Steinberg
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Jill Steinberg
Performance Photographer, Jill Steinberg Photography LLC
Board President, National Sawdust
Board Chair, VisionIntoArt
New York, NY
As a photographer, Jill Steinberg has always preferred to be invisible. Although she entered the field later in life, her work has sometimes placed her at the center of attention, even as she has deftly redirected that attention to the causes in which she so strongly believes.
As a photographer, Jill Steinberg has always preferred to be invisible. Although she entered the field later in life, her work has sometimes placed her at the center of attention, even as she has deftly redirected that attention to the causes in which she so strongly believes.
She received a BFA in Art when she graduated college and ran the Peer Counseling program at the local Women’s Center and volunteered at her sons’ schools. That said, she continued taking photos primarily of her sons and grandchildren as they came along.One day she was photographing her 7 year old granddaughter Margot scootering down her driveway and Margot’s neighbor came out and asked if she was a photographer.Jill answered no, I’m her grandmother.Margot told her “No Nana, you need to think of yourself as a photographer!”That simple statement alloweda paradigm shift in Jill’s self image.
A year later when her son Bruce needed a portfolio to apply for his MFA in Light Design he handed her his camera and asked her to photograph his work.
Ms. Steinberg first experience shooting a live performance was at the Chelsea Art Museum, when Bruce lit a show there for the composer Paola Prestini. From there, she was noticed and asked to take on her first paid assignment, taking pictures at The Juilliard School’s annual Beyond the Machine concert. She continued to shoot that concert for the next seven years.
It was through her connection to Paola Prestini that Ms. Steinberg was introduced to VisionIntoArt, an interdisciplinary arts production company that focuses on visionary opera and music projects which expand artistic forms and shape the future of art — driven by equity and civic imagination, innovation and technology. She became VIA’s board chair in 2009 and when Ms Prestini was tapped to co-found National Sawdust, a new music venue, in 2013 she joined the Board there becoming the Board President in 2018.When her 2 books, Contemplations and Invisible/Revealed were published she directed that the proceeds all go to support the VIA Impact Lab at National Sawdust. This collaboration between VisionIntoArt and National Sawdust focuses on developing ideas for socially resonant opera and performing arts. As she is on the boards of both non-profits, VIA and NS all of her photography for both organizations is pro bono.
The deep commitment to making a difference expressed by Ms. Steinberg and the Impact Lab is on full display in their most recent endeavor, the opera “Sensorium Ex.” Exploring the potential impact of advancements in artificial intelligence on people with disabilities, “Sensorium Ex” utilizes cutting-edge technology from New York University’s Ability Project to give a voice to individuals who cannot speak and would traditionally be excluded from performing.She aims to capture the magic of performers in the moment, creating images that can help other people with disabilities recognize that anything is possible. While Ms. Steinberg would rather remain invisible, she believes that everyone has the right to be seen.
Jill Steinberg was a co-founding member of National Sawdust in 2015, becoming it's board president in 2018.
National Sawdust’s mission is rooted in music discovery that is open, inclusive, and based in active mentorship of emerging artists, while building new audiences and communities of music devotees.
National Sawdust engages artists in an ecosystem of incubation to dissemination, programming groundbreaking new music in our state-of-the-art Williamsburg venue, and developing and touring new, collaborative music-driven projects — the National Sawdust DNA produces and presents world-class artistic work which embraces a wide stylistic approach to music.
National Sawdust believes in being an innovative leader in changing the landscape of contemporary music, by bringing all voices to the stage and beyond — artistic representation that reflects the ever-evolving multicultural society in which we live.
VisionIntoArt is a non-profit new music & interdisciplinary arts production company in New York City. Since Jill Steinberg co-founded the company in 1999 at the Juilliard School, VIA has created and performed over twenty five original works as well as many releases through their self titled record label. With the belief that collaboration sustains artistic innovation, VIA creates and commissions works that involve various disciplines, presented around the world for the general audience, and forged from the most exciting emerging and established artists living today as well as interdisciplinary experts including scientists and conservationists.
Alongside her work with National Sawdust where they have Hildegard Commission for composers who are women and other marginalized genders, Ms. Steinberg is dedicated to uplifting women. She was recently invited to serve as one of five judges for the 2026 America’s Distinguished Young Women’s National Finals. Formerly known as America’s Junior Miss, the Distinguished Young Women competition focuses on leadership, academics and talent among women in their senior year of high school. Ms. Steinberg found her role as a judge both challenging and inspiring.
