Tracie Williams

Photographer

Tracie Williams is a documentary photographer, visual artist, and filmmaker. Hailing from the deserts of New Mexico and transient by nature, her spirit has brought her from the bays of Australia to the banks of the Mekong River in Laos. She now rests her head in the heart of the beast that is NYC. Although Williams' roots are social documentary and street photography, her quest to experiment and discover innovative approaches to the traditional narrative ­led her to pursue an MFA in Advanced Photographic Studies at ICP-Bard. Last year, she completed an experimental documentary film Fellowship with the UnionDocs Collaborative Studio, based in Brooklyn. In March, Williams returned from a month-long, self-funded embed in Standing Rock where she was living and documenting the main resistance camp of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, just north of Cannon Ball, North Dakota. On Feb 23, 2017, she was arrested while covering the militarized raid that took place there, moments after the image of the two Water Protectors praying near the Sacred Fire - with weapons aimed at their heads, point-blank range - was made. Williams' camera, audio recorder, memory cards and cell phone were confiscated as evidence. With perseverance and help from a couple of lawyers, several advocacy groups and a local Senator, she managed to get all of her gear back (data intact) literally hours before jumping on a plane back to NYC. Williams is facing trial in June 2018.