Aubrey is a visual artist, collaborative anthropologist, educator, storyteller and memory worker with heartstrings tied to New Orleans—presently running wild in Wyoming. Her work is rooted in a socially-engaged practice that intersects the academic, creative, applied, and public spheres.
She is a photographer by trade and a cultural anthropologist and historical archaeologist by training. She holds an Associate of Applied Science in Photography (ACC), a Bachelor of Journalism (UT), a Master of Science in Urban Studies (UNO), and a Master of Art in Anthropology and Environment and Natural Resources with a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems and Technology (UWYO). She is a lifelong learner, and is presently a Mellon research assistant and PhD student in Public Humanities at the University of Wyoming.
Her research interests include: landscapes and material culture of resistance, the archaeology of capitalism and wage work, collectivism and socialism during westward expansion, and interdisciplinary memory keeping practices on landscapes of labor, organizing and racist violence. She is presently working with multigenerational mine workers in Kemmerer, Wyoming, to create an interactive ethnographic website preserving union mining heritage as the town transitions from coal to nuclear power. She is also thrilled to be a part of Monument Lab’s Re:Generation 2024 cohort to develop High Iron. High Iron will be a traveling piece of public art—a modified train car—that will travel westward from Laramie, Wyoming, to share stories of ancestors who built the transcontinental railroad, shining light on buried narratives of an incredibly diverse state, a culture of care, and immigrant contribution
She is the founder and executive director of Alces Community Works, a public anthropology non-profit organization that works alongside community members in Wyoming to preserve and share multimedia stories of people and place.
Her editorial and commercial photography client list includes: BBC, Comedy Central, Esquire, Fender Guitars, The Grammys, HBO, Magnolia Pictures, Nike, Playboy, Red Bull, The United Nations, Time, Volcom and innumerable magazines and record labels. Her collaborators have ranged from Spike Lee to Rebecca Solnit to the Smithsonian Institution. She has been the recipient of numerous grants and residencies, has exhibited nationally and internationally, and has taught visual art to learners ages 6-70 years old.
Aubrey has worked in youth advocacy and arts-based youth programming for over 20 years, creating and supporting opportunities for young people to learn leadership skills rooted in social justice and transformative change.
You can find her scanning the sky for migratory birds, scanning the ground for archaeological objects, and watching reruns of Law and Order SVU.
