Education

• UCLA - School of the Arts & Architecture, B.A. (Expected 2026)

Select Awards & Recognition

• TIME Magazine Global Photographic Portraiture Competition, Winner (2024)

• The New York Times Coming of Age Contest, Winner (2020)

• Sony World Photography Awards, Shortlist (2022)

• Canon’s Eddie Adams Workshop, Class of XXXVII & Gold Team (2024)

• National YoungArts Competition, Winner in Photography (2022)

• 43rd Annual Telly Awards, Bronze Prize for Outstanding Student Film (2022)

• Diversify Photo, Up Next Photographer (2024)

• National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Silver Medalist (2022)

• Booooooom, Staff Photo Feature & Publication (2024)

• LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards, Editor’s Pick (2024)

• American Youth Film Festival, Jackie Award (2022)

• Martin Luther King Jr. Film Festival, Best Impact Film (2020)

• Princeton University, Collegiate Filmmakers Showcase, Best Student Film Nominee (2024)

• All American High School Film Festival, Nominee (2020)

• National YoungArts Foundation, Creative Grant (2024)

• Mometu College Shorts Film Festival, Best Foreign Language Film Nominee (2024)

• 23rd Annual National High School Poetry Contest, Winner

• Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, Winner of 6 Gold Keys, 2 Silver Keys, 5 Honorable Mentions (2021-22)

• 40th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, Nextwave Youth Competition Finalist

• Fearless, Youth Initiative Film Festival, Best Photography Prize (2021)

• 20th Annual Drexel University High Photography Contest, National Finalist

• Philadelphia Youth Film Festival, Special Jury Prizes in Screenwriting & Film (2021)

• Revolution Me Film Festival, Screenwriting Prize & Social Awareness Award (2021-2022)

• Our Voices Film Festival, Best PSA Finalist (2020)

• 60 Second Film Festival, Best Short Finalist (2020)

• Documentary Family Awards, Finalist in Photography (2021)

• ESMoA Video + Art Film Festival, Semi-Finalist (2020)

• Newark IFF Youth Film Festival, Semi-Finalist (2018)

Select Publications & Press

• “See the Winning Photographs From TIME and ASMP’s Global Portraiture Competition,” TIME Magazine

• “Coming of Age: Teens on a Year That Changed Everything,” Special Print Section, The New York Times

  • ​Available for Purchase on The New York Times Store

• “Coming of Age in 2020: Teenagers on the Year That Changed Everything” W.W. Norton & Company

  • ​Available for Purchase on Amazon.com

• ​“Teens on a Year That Changed Everything” The New York Times, The Learning Network

• “The Documentary and Art Photography of Christian Lee” Vogue Italia, PhotoVogue

• “A Beautiful Amalgamation of Family Photographs by Artist Christian Lee” Booooooom, Staff Pick

• “​Anthology and Catalogue: Select Works by YoungArts Winners” National YoungArts Foundation

• ​“Rising Stars: Meet Christian Lee” LA’s Most Inspiring Stories, VoyageLA Magazine

• “The Black and White Imagery of Artist Christian Lee” The Adroit Journal, Volume 40

• “‘Til the Day Breaks: An Original Photo Series” Counterclock Journal, Issue 12

• “Celebrating Simplicity: Finding Beauty in the Commonplace” Los Angeles Times, High School Insider​

• “Introducing Christian Lee” Young Photographers International Collective

Solo Exhibitions

• “Until the Day Breaks” UCLA Little Gallery, Broad Art Center, Los Angeles, California (2024)

• “The Come & See Project: A Year in Photos” ARC Gallery, La Habra, California (2022)

Select Group Exhibitions

• “The Care & Repair Project” UC Irvine School of Humanities, Irvine, California (2024)

• “Innovate24: The Black Innovation Summit” Center for Digital Transformation, Irvine, California (2024)

• “Kaleidoscope” Catalyst Undergraduate Art Gallery, Claire Trevor School of the Arts, Irvine, California (2023)

• “Shutter Hub’s Postcards from Europe” Alison Richards Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom ​(2022)

• ”Reel Exposure International Juried Teen Photo Exhibition” Trolley Barn Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, New York (2022)

• “20th Annual Drexel University High School Photography Contest” Antoinette Westphal College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2020)

Select Screenings

• Golden State Film Festival, TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California (2022)

• All American High School Film Festival, AMC Empire Theatre, Times Square, New York City (2021) *two projects*

• Princeton Film Festival, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (2024)

• Adelaide Film Festival, Variety Magazine’s ‘Unmissable Festival,’ Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Adelaide, Australia (2021)

• Central Film Festival, The Moxie Theater, Springfield, Missouri (2021) *two projects*

• Emerging Lens Cultural Film Festival, Canadian Academy Awards Qualification, Canadian Museum of Immigration (2021)

• Scout Film Festival, ICA Seaport Studio, Boston, Massachusetts (2022)

• Kidz Hub Regional Film Festival, Old Bridge, New Jersey (2018)

• Brooklyn Shorty Film Festival, John D. McFadden, Sr. Young Filmmakers Competition, Virtual Screening (2020)

• Huntington Beach Cultural Cinema Showcase, Virtual Premiere (2020)

• Flicks Documentary Film Night, USVA Cultural Center, Groningen, Netherlands (2021)

• Lift-Off Global Network & First Time Filmmaker Sessions, Pinewood Studios, Iver, United Kingdom (2019-20) *four projects*

• Newark International Youth Film Festival, Supported by Panasonic, Newark, New Jersey (2018-20) *eight projects*​​

Professional Memberships

• Diversify Photo, Up Next Photographer

• Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), Photo Member

• Film Independent, Member & Merit Scholarship Recipient

• Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Alumni Association, Member

• PwC US Alumni, Member

Lee’s favorite photographers and his earliest artistic influences include Dawoud Bey, Mark Steinmetz, RaMell Ross, César Rodríguez, Bryan Schutmaat, Deana Lawson, Raymond Meeks, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Stacey Kranitz, Tommy Kha, Mark Leong, Alec Soth, and Kristen Joy Emack.