Nico van Dongen

Nico van Dongen is a Dutch-born fine art photographer, designer, and educator whose work blurs the line between observation and imagination. Now based in San Francisco, he has spent more than twenty years teaching photography, design, and visual arts, inspiring students at institutions including the University of San Francisco, the College of San Mateo, the Academy of Art, and Hult International Business School. Trained at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, Nico developed a fascination with how images can hold both memory and mystery.

His “multidimensional photography” layers multiple exposures into dreamlike compositions that invite viewers to see familiar subjects in new ways. From the sensual botanicals of Tulipa Erotica to the meditative Concerning Trees series in Golden Gate Park, his projects explore beauty, time, and transformation. In 2023, his exhibition No Delays reimagined the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges as powerful symbols of connection, grandeur, and emotional resonance.

• Photography
• Graphic design 

• Visual design 
• Communication

• Royal Academy of Fine Art, BFA in Photography

• Adjunct Faculty Design HULT – SF International School of Business (2017 – 2020)
• Adjunct Faculty Graphic Design & Photography College of San Mateo (2013 – Present)
• Stride Center, Oakland Program Director (2011 – 2013)
• Department Director Graphic Design Advertising & Foundation Studies Art Institute of California, San Francisco (2003 – 2010)
• Adjunct Faculty Undergraduate & Graduate New Media Academy of Art University (1995 – 2003)

• The San Francisco War Memorial, No Delays, Solo photography exhibition  2024