I want to be a part of the movement of storytellers that are telling history based on, you know,

what they know as often as they can so that we have the most diverse and a more accurate telling

of this time. And so if I believe that that's the case, then I need to investigate, you know,

well, what in what area do I see more because I know more? That was photojournalist and documentary

photographer, Ash Adams. Ash's work tends to focus on people and stories about humanity,

and elevating the voices and experiences that have historically been underrepresented.

In her work, this includes actively dismantling stereotypes by highlighting indigenous voices

and advocating for gender equity. She says that one role of photojournalism is to show what

inequity feels like so that others may understand, and that if we diversify the voices that are

telling the narratives and a writing history, then we're going to have a documented history

that is more reflective of what actually happened. So here she is, Ash Adams.

Welcome to Chattermarks. A podcast of the Anchorage Museum. Dedicated to exploring Alaska's identity

through the creative and critical thinking of ideas. Past, present, and future.

My name is Cody Liska, and I'll be your host.

Now that you are safely tucked away in the closet, so we can get good audio, how would you describe

your work? I mean, the most straightforward definition of everything I do is just putting it

under an umbrella of a documentary photography or photojournalism. And even the work that I do

that is slightly more conceptual still is usually fairly documentary in nature.

I mostly photograph people and stories that have a strong human component. So even if they're

environmental, they're still usually human led narratives. So I think those are the main

things that I would say. How did you get into photojournalism and documentary photography?

So I started making photos as a teenager. I ended up in a photo, just a photography class with

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