Image credit: Ayşe Gürsöz
Photographer, storyteller and multimedia artist, Ayşe Gürsöz is one of the five recipients of the 2022 Revolutionary Storytellers. The project is based in Cordova, Alaska where Ayşe will be working closely with the Native Conservancy.
“Our goals are to create beautiful images that convey to the world how impactful their kelp initiative is. Eventually, they would like to scale up these efforts of ocean remediation through kelp that will meet the scale of the climate crisis we face,” says Gürsöz.
Image of Ayşe Gürsöz by Rudi Cruz.
The initiative is gauged toward any coastal communities that could benefit from launching a similar kelp initiative, as well as any funders dedicated to moving resources to grassroots and Indigenous-led solutions for climate justice, economic justice, and food sovereignty.
Over the past three years, Ayşe has developed a relationship with Native Conservancy, producing multimedia content to support their goals and vision. Gürsöz says, “this third year, will be where we can really document the fruits of their labor. They will be harvesting the kelp and they've already been able to provide many jobs to local Indigenous youth in their community, as well as healthy greens to their community in a food desert, where healthy greens are inaccessible or very costly.”
In partnership with Aēsop, the Revolutionary Storyteller Grant is awarded to five storytellers who are working alongside land/water protectors, and/or regenerative climate change initiatives. The panel of jurors selected storytellers who were radically changing the landscape of what it means to be a photographer and also what land/water protection and climate change mitigation/adaptation efforts can look like when they are created from the ground up.
The Revolutionary Storyteller Grant includes $5000 USD cash that will go towards supporting the creation of an impactful photography project, plus a community exhibition of the work, behind-the-scenes video footage, and a campaign to support the goals of the project and ongoing support from the Photographers Without Borders team.
Ayşe is a 2020 Las Fotos Project, The Photo Awards “Advocacy” nominee; the 2019 Lucie Foundation “Photo Taken, Emerging Scholarship” nominee; and her work has been featured at the immersive We Rise Art Gallery in Los Angeles. She has directed social impact content for brands and organizations, ranging from La Mer to Indigenous Environmental Network, and has contributed cinematography to the critically acclaimed documentary, Alice Street. In 2017, she collaborated with artist Ernesto Yerena and the Amplifier Foundation on the We The People campaign. Ayşe is a Diversify Photo “Up Next” member, and a member of the Authority Collective. She recently finished her photography residency in Sousse, Tunisia with The New Medina.
“Digital storytelling is one of the most powerful and engaging tools of our time to build beyond walls – a world where the rights and dignity of all communities are respected,” says Gürsöz.
To keep up to date with Gürsöz’s ongoing project with the Native Conservancy, and to learn more about their past, present and future projects, visit their website and follow them on Instagram by clicking the links below.
