Ayşe Gürsöz is a documentary photographer, cinematographer, and visual storyteller whose work explores the intersection of climate justice, food sovereignty, human rights, and community-led movements around the world. Through photography, film, and narrative strategy, she partners with organizations to create stories that deepen understanding, strengthen advocacy, and honor the dignity of the people and movements they represent.
Raised between cultures as the daughter of Turkish immigrants, Ayşe developed an early awareness of identity, belonging, and the power of stories to shape how communities are seen. That perspective continues to inform her collaborative approach to visual storytelling; one rooted in trust, consent, and long-term relationships rather than extraction.
Over the past decade, Ayşe has documented community-led solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges, from agroecological movements in Senegal and grassroots-led land stewardship in Thailand to women's leadership in Peru and climate justice initiatives across the Pacific. Her work moves beyond documenting crises to illuminate the knowledge, resilience, and imagination that communities cultivate in response to them.
As the inaugural Photographer-in-Residence at Thousand Currents, Ayşe led a global visual storytelling initiative spanning Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. She developed the organization's first visual storytelling framework, produced multimedia campaigns that connected global audiences with grassroots partners, and helped establish a visual archive that continues to support movement-building, fundraising, and public engagement. Her work has included creative direction, photography, cinematography, editing, and narrative strategy, bringing together still and moving images into cohesive stories that amplify community voices.
Ayşe's photography and narrative strategy work has supported organizations including Rainforest Action Network, Indigenous Environmental Network, Public Advocates, John Muir Community Health Foundation, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, and numerous community-led organizations advancing environmental and social justice. She served as producer and cinematographer for It Takes a Movement, a documentary highlighting grassroots leadership, and her work has been recognized with a Telly Award, the Boğaziçi University Environmental Photography Award, and selection as one of Photographers Without Borders' Revolutionary Storytellers. She is also a member of Diversify Photo.
In addition to her documentary practice, Ayşe facilitates workshops on visual storytelling for nonprofits and foundations, helping organizations create more authentic, community-centered communications. Her work bridges journalism, advocacy, and art, grounded in the belief that photography can foster understanding, strengthen movements, and inspire collective action.
Ayşe holds a bachelor's degree in Technocultural Studies from the University of California, Davis.
AWARDS / HONORS
2025: Winner. Boğaziçi University Environmental Photographer Award
2025: Inaugural Speaker at PDX Photo Night
2024: Selected. Canada Post, Postage Stamp Photograph of Josephine Manadman, Indigenous Leaders Series
2023: Juror. Photographers Without Borders Revoluntionary Storyteller Grant
2022: Winner. Photographers Without Borders Revolutionary Storyteller Grant
2022: Selected. Stat’s Most Memorable photos of 2022
2022: Finalist. 5’s Sustainability Champion Photo Contest
2019: Nominee: LensCulture Emerging Photographer
2017: Selected. “We The People” Photo/Artist Campaign Collaboration
EXHIBITIONS
2025:Sounds of Prayer | The New Medina | Tunisia
2025:Connected Futures, Thousand Currents | Oakland, CA
2025:Mother Earth Speaks | Los Angeles Center of Photography
2017:Smithsonian | "We the Resilient" poster
PAST CLIENTS
Decolonizing Wealth (Photographer)
Redford Center (Photographer)
Indigenous Environmental Network (Producer, Photographer)
Lead to Life (Photographer)
Planting Justice (Producer, Photographer)
John Muir Community Health Fund (Consultant)
Earth Justice (Photographer)
Grassroots Global Justice (Producer, Photographer)
Amazon Watch (Photographer)
Indigenous Climate Action (Photographer)
Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center (Photographer)
Native Conservancy | La Mer (Photographer, Cinematographer)
Students Demand Action (Photographer)
