Elizabeth Ransom is the Founder and Director of Women Alternative Photography Group (WAPG) and is co-author of the recently published Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: Changes in Policy and Practice report from Fast Forward: Women in Photography. She is a PhD candidate at the University for the Creative Arts researching the impacts of migration on women alternative photographers. Ransom is an adjunct professor at Western Washington University in the Art and Art History Department and runs workshops at The Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle and The Schack Art Center in Everett. As an artist, Ransom takes from her own lived experiences of migration to explore homesickness and transnationality. Ransom’s research builds on theories of migration, place attachment, and declarative episodic memory, particularly from the perspective of the migrant woman. Her work has been exhibited internationally in the UK, India, Mexico, China, and the US.
What made you want to start the WAPG?
For the past few years, I have been interviewing women and nonbinary artists who use alternative photographic processes as part of my research for my PhD. I am an alternative photographer myself and during these conversations, I found there was a need for more research to be done on these fascinating techniques. There are many books that provide instruction on how to create a cyanotype, or how to make an anthotype, but there are limited resources that critically analyze the work of artists who are using experimental approaches or investigate the theoretical side of these techniques. So, the initial aim was to provide a platform to publish the research I was doing, but also share resources of the incredible work that is already out there. This has manifested as the Women Alternative Photography Group resource page which is a live list of resources that is continuously added to including theoretical texts, essays, interviews, and articles authored by women, nonbinary and LGBTQIA+ writers on the topic of alternative photography.
The second part of the equation was the need to build a community. I believe that creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. This idea of the reclusive artist who works alone for hours in a studio until one day they emerge with a masterpiece is incredibly limiting. Artists need other artists, writers, curators, designers, technicians, and researchers to bounce ideas off, learn from, and share the crazy ideas that keep us up at night. It is through conversation and engaging with a community that allows creativity to thrive. So, for me after relocating back to the States I found myself in a place where I had a very limited network and I wanted to create a space for other alternative photography lovers to gather and learn from each other.
Were you inspired by your work at Fast Forward to make the WAPG? How so or in what ways was it inspiring?
Absolutely! I have been working with Fast Forward: Women in Photography Founder and Director Anna Fox and Research and Project Manager Maria Kapajeva since 2016 and I am continuing to work with Fast Forward today just in a slightly different capacity. It’s incredibly empowering to observe and learn from role models that are doing work that aligns so closely with my own personal beliefs and goals. Fast Forward has provided me with many opportunities to grow and expand my knowledge as a researcher and has inspired me to advocate for women and non-binary artists from marginalized groups who are specifically working with the alternative photographic techniques that bring me so much joy. Over the short amount of time that Fast Forward has been in existence they have enabled an incredible amount of change in the photography world allowing space for women photographers to thrive. Through their conferences, workshops, publications, and research activities they have supported women and non-binary artists from around the world, impacted collecting policies at major institutions, and helped draw attention to the issues women face in the art sector today. I knew that I would always want to be a part of something that provided such an immense service to the arts sector. By founding the Women Alternative Photography Group I’m able to continue that incredible work.
How does one join or get involved with the WAPG?
Women Alternative Photography Group is open to everyone, in particular those from marginalized groups. There is no financial cost or application to be a part of WAPG. It is a fluid community that will ebb and flow over time. We welcome students, artists, curious minds, researchers, curators, writers, art historians, and other industry professionals to participate in any way that best fits their needs. Many of the events and activities will be held online to provide accessible resources for those who are in different time zones, those who do not have funds to travel or neurodiverse and disabled artists who cannot access in-person events. I also aim to host in-person meet-ups, exhibitions, symposiums, and workshops around the world for those that prefer to engage with alternative photographic processes live. The best way to get involved is to join the WAPG quarterly online meet-up, join our mailing list, attend an event, sign up for a workshop, or engage with our interview series. As WAPG becomes more established I hope to apply for funding to provide more resources and opportunities for women and nonbinary artists from marginalized groups to learn about alternative photographic processes.
What is the intention behind the creation of the WAPG?
The Women Alternative Photography Group’s mission is to celebrate the contributions of women, nonbinary and marginalized groups using alternative photographic processes in today’s contemporary art world to inform and challenge current artistic canons and provoke social change. Women Alternative Photography Group is an international research project which is dedicated to elevating the voices of those who are often ignored or overlooked. At its core Women Alternative Photography Group is committed to researching and distributing new knowledge of those using innovative and experimental processes as well as historical techniques that are currently being reinvigorated and reinvented.
How did you get into doing workshops? What do you hope to create and inspire in others during these workshops?
One of the key takeaways from writing the recently published Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: Changes in Policy and Practice report for Fast Forward: Women in Photography was that there is no single pathway to a career in photography. Not everyone has the resources to fund and attend university. These spaces are often inaccessible for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, women, marginalized groups, caregivers, neurodiverse and disabled artists. When considering all the possibilities for Women Alternative Photography Group I had this circling in the back of my mind. I wanted to provide learning opportunities for local and international communities of all ages and abilities to experience and enjoy alternative photographic processes.
I began running in-person workshops at my studio in England during the pandemic. I started off with basic intro-level alternative photographic workshops for kids and adults and moved on to themed workshops and more experimental techniques. Witnessing the joy of the participants as they experienced the magic of alt processes for the first time is something I will never forget. I then received a few invitations to run similar workshops online for various universities and art institutions around the world. This experience gave me the confidence to start initiating similar workshops here in the US.
I hope that those who participate in any of the WAPG workshops fall in love with the unique nature of alternative photographic processes. I hope that they find new tools to voice their concepts and ideas. From cyanotypes to plant-based developers these workshops aim to inspire new ways of working and acknowledge the rich history of these incredible methods.
What future projects do you have in the works that readers could look forward to seeing in the future?
This summer is going to be incredibly busy at Women Alternative Photography Group. Coming up on the 25 May 2023 we will be launching our next interview series Etched which will showcase incredible artists using the Photogravure printing process. I am also working behind the scenes planning our very first WAPG online quarterly meet-up.
In addition, this summer I will be running monthly workshops at the Schack Art Center in Everett for anyone interested in learning the basics of how to make a Cyanotype. I will also be running a workshop series at The Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle titled Speaking with Light: A Conceptual Approach to Alternative Processes. This three-part workshop will invite participants to experiment, play, and consider new ways of using alternative photographic processes to express conceptual ideas.
I also have the pleasure of running a free online workshop as part of the Agents for Change program at The Photographic Center Northwest titled Women Behind the Camera. During this series, participants will be introduced to contemporary issues facing women in photography today. With guest speakers from two of the leading global organizations on women in photography, seminars, case studies, lectures, and panel discussions, this workshop will celebrate the inspiring work of women working with photography. Currently, this workshop is sold out, but there is a waiting list you can join in case any places become available.
And lastly, I will be running a week-long summer camp for children at Hillside Academy where we will forage for local plants, create cyanotype, and utilize the power of the sun. All information on how to sign up and join one of the summer workshops can be found on the WAPG website.
You could see more of Elizabeth’s work at her website: https://www.elizabethransom.com/
Huge thanks to Elizabeth for talking with us about the WAPG! Make sure to watch the blog as we’ll be doing a personal interview about her work!