ABOUT SOUTHERLY GOLD
Formed in 2011, Southerly Gold is an ensemble of three working female photographers living and working in the city of New Orleans. The collective consists of Aubrey Edwards, Ariya Martin and Elena Ricci.
Southerly Gold was most recently included in the Louisiana Contemporary exhibition at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and they have shown work at The Grand Maltese Gallery, New Orleans Public Library, UNO gallery St. Claude and in conjunction with PhotoNOLA. They are recipients of the 2016 Platforms Grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation, and are the newest members of Good Children Gallery.
Aubrey Edwards
Aubrey Dawne Edwards is a freelance photographer, observational filmmaker, storyteller and educator based in New Orleans, Louisiana and splitting time with Auckland, New Zealand. She holds a Master of Science in Urban Studies from the University of New Orleans with a focus on Visual Anthropology, a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Texas and an Associate of Applied Science of Photography from Austin Community College. Her client list includes the United Nations, Magnolia Pictures, Vice, BBC, Comedy Central and Time. Her collaborators span from Spike Lee to Rebecca Solnit to the Smithsonian Institute. Edwards facilitates heavily-researched, multimedia, participatory anthropological projects. She works alongside communities to collaboratively trace the roots and rituals of the populace, her collaborators span from transgendered women in Singapore to skateboarders in New Orleans East. She is presently working on a film observing the tradition, ritual, and stewardship of New Zealand’s female bush hunters.
Ariya Martin
New Orleans based artist, Ariya Martin works from personal narrative and daily life. Recurrent imagery of everyday, mundane items and acts, are examined through individual images, videos, sound and text; or collectively as installations. She received her Masters of Fine Arts in Imaging Arts-Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology and has worked at significant photographic institutions, George Eastman House and Kodak. Over the past several years her art practice has widened to involve community gathering, ritual and song, and other collaborative endeavors. In addition to being a founding member of Southerly Gold, Ariya also co-founded One Bird, a non profit organization dedicated to community arts programs that work with children, using photography, writing, mixed media and emerging technologies in order to assist them in sharing their stories, and has most recently spent summers working with youth in Haiti. She is Assistant Professor of Photography at the University of New Orleans. She has been exhibiting for 15 years nationally and has shown regionally at Louisiana Purchase National Biennial, the Contemporary Art Center New Orleans, Martine Chaisson Gallery, The Front, and Acadiana Center for the Arts.
Elena Ricci
Elena Ricci graduated from New England School of Photography with high honors in Fine Art and Editorial, and recently earned her B.A. in Anthropology at the University of New Orleans. She is currently employed as an cultural resource technician and travels across the state of Louisiana undertaking archaeological projects. Her photographic and research work have been featured, published, and presented in numerous literary reviews, magazines, and academic summits, and her images from select archaeological excavations are archived at the Library of Congress. Ricci’s work explores concepts of identity through the examination and exploration of objects and spaces, using photography to supplement human narratives and historical research. Select clients include Garden and Gun Magazine, New Orleans Magazine, State Historic Preservation Office, A Studio in the Woods, and Preservation in Print. Her personal work has been exhibited locally at the Ogden Museum, Louisiana State Museum, and Martine Chaisson Gallery.
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