Will Warasila is an American photographer focused on long-term documentary projects concerning toxicity, the environment, and slow violence.

Livingston, Montana

Clients

Atmos, Bloomberg Businessweek, Bon Appétit, Metropolis Magazine, Oxford American, Interview Magazine, International Farming, Legal Aid of North Carolina, The New Yorker, The New York Times, TIME Magazine, North Carolina Arts Council, Revolver Magazine, Sperry, VICE, Wired

Books

Quicker than Coal Ash, Gnomic Book, 2022

Press

  • Schneider, Anna. Book Review, Quicker than Coal Ash, Booooooom. March 31, 2023.
  • Coppelman, Alyssa. Spotlight, Quicker than Coal Ash, Oxford American, Spring Issue 2023.
  • Book Review, Quicker than Coal Ash, British Journal of Photography, Jan/Feb Issue 2023.
  • Spotlight, “Book Release set for Saturday,” The Stokes News, February 23, 2023.
  • Hingley, Olivia. Feature, “The community fighting the invisible threat of toxic coal ash, captured by Will Warasila,” It’s Nice That. February 21, 2023.
  • Dilworth, Alexa. Feature, “Will Warasila: Quicker than Coal Ash,” Lenscratch. February 6, 2023.
  • Milner, Daphe. Feature, Quicker than Coal Ash, Atmos Magazine. December 11, 2022.
  • Høltermand, Kim. Feature, “Will Warasila: Quicker than Coal Ash,” Nowhere Diary. December 20th, 2022.
  • Rosen, Miss. Interview, “Photos of life in the shadow of an American power plant,” Huck Magazine. Dec 7th, 2022.
  • Marr, Kayla. Spotlight, “10 Artists Moving Us to Take a Stand Against Coal Ash Pollution,” Earth Justice. Sept 9th, 2021.
  • Ph.D. Horowitz, Andy. Feature, “Quicker than Coal Ash,” Southern Cultures, Spring 2021.
  • Saulters, Hannah. Feature, “Documenting Deeply” (Photographs from George Floyd’s Memorial Service in Raeford, North Carolina. June 6, 2020), Oxford American. July 9th, 2020.
  • Clune, Katy. Interview, “Will Warasila MFA EDA ’20 Quicker than Coal Ash,” Duke Arts. May 4th, 2020.
  • Schneider, Anna. Spotlight, “Portfolio,” BOOOOOOOM. October 23, 2019
  • Renstrom, Elizabeth. Spotlight, “Iron and Steel,” VICE. August 28, 2018.
  • Hamada, Kimi. Spotlight, “Accord Speedway,” BOOOOOOOM. January 26, 2017.
  • Anne, Kelia. Interview, “India at Interval,” AIN’T BAD. March 1, 2016.

Awards

  • Urbanautica Institue, 2022
  • Critical Mass Top 200, 2020
  • American Photography 36, Selected, 2020
  • American Photography 35, Selected, 2019

Solo Exhibitions

  • Quicker than Coal Ash, Rubenstein Arts Center at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 2020
  • Vann, S3026, Boulder, Colorado, 2020

Group Exhibitions

  • H20, GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art, Greensboro, NC 2022
  • Big Backyard, Supergraphic Wearhouse, Durham, NC, 2020
  • Here and Now, Power Plant Gallery, Durham, NC, 2020
  • Telling Realism, Power Plant Gallery, Durham, NC, 2019
  • Portraits of North Carolina’s Millennial Traditional Artists, Rubenstein Arts Center, Durham, NC, 2019
  • Click! Photography Festival: Where We Find Home, Cameron Gallery, Durham, NC, 2017
  • Mentors show, SVA Gallery, New York, New York, 2015
  • SVA Seniors Show, New York, New York, 2015

Education

  • MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts, Duke University, 2020
  • BFA in photography, School of Visual Arts, 2015

Teaching

  • Darkroom I, University of North Carolina, Winter 2022
  • Introduction to Digital Photography, University of North Carolina, Spring 2022
  • Introduction to Digital Photography, Duke University, Spring 2021
  • History of Photography: 1839 to Present, Duke University, Summer 2020

Artist Talks & Lectures

  • Class Visit, Introduction to Photography and Related Media, Host: Hector René Membreño-Canales, MIT’s program in Art Culture and Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2023
  • Artist Talk, Greenhill Center for North Carolina Art, Greensboro, NC, 2022
  • Class Visit, History of Photography, Host: Alexander Strecker, Duke University, Durham, NC, 2022
  • Artist Talk, Duke University, Durham, NC, 2021
  • Artist Talk, Bass Connections: Art and the Anthropocene, Duke University, Durham, NC, 2021
  • Class Visit, Faith and Fossil Fuels, Host: Ryan Juskus, Duke University, Durham, NC, 2020

Site designed by Jeemin Shim and Miguel Gaydosh.

Site developed by Sarah Riazati.