Joann Harrah is a contemporary artist who lives and works in New York. She received her B.F.A. at the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2003. She was dedicated to the program, where skilled craftsmanship and vigorous art theory was emphasized. She received The Hazel Haynes Schmitkons Scholarship for Excellence in Painting, and shortly after C.I.A. her work was included in a show at M% Gallery. Harrah went on to Queens College for her M.F.A. She studied there with several professors who are associated with the feminist art movement, and completed her degree with the highest academic score in the program. In 2008 she had a solo exhibition at the Mooney Center Gallery, The College of New Rochelle, New York. She has exhibited widely in New York and the United States. Harrah has maintained her studio in New York City since 2005.