Alexandra “Ali” Saunders is a writer and documentary photographer from Harvard, Massachusetts, currently based in New Orleans. She studies English and Studio Art with a concentration in Photography at Tulane University, where she is also a Division I Track & Field athlete.
Saunders works primarily with film photography, writing, and documentary practices. Her work is grounded in a belief in the importance of empathy, connection, and love, and is often concerned with the quiet relationships between people, places, and everyday life. Her practice moves between photographs, poems, essays, journalism, and more.
Her photographic work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally, including exhibitions in New Orleans, Paris, and Bangalore. Her photographs have been published in both print and online publications, including Apricity Press, Pile Press, New Paltz Photo, CORE Magazine, Flare Journal, and The Atlantic Northeast Magazine. Her work has also appeared as cover art and in literary publications, including The Tulane Review. She was recently selected to be included in Colorado Photographic Arts Centers Emerging Visions Showcase, a prestigious exhibition highlighting a select number of graduate and undergraduate photographers each year. On top of her photographic work, she is a published writer with work featured in newspapers as well as literary publications.
Alongside her independent practice, Saunders serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Tulane Review, Tulane University's literary publication, where she leads a team of editors and works to curate and bring two print editions to publication each year. She also works with the New Orleans Photo Alliance in gallery and lab operations, collaborating with artists and the wider New Orleans arts community while working with film development, scanning, printing, exhibitions, open calls, and archival practices.
Saunders is particularly interested in the intersections of photography, writing, and community, and in creating work that is attentive to the people and places she photographs. Across her practice, she is interested in how images and stories can preserve moments of connection and make space for empathy.
Thank you!