A Photo Storyteller

Written By: Billy Love, The Bascom | Issue: April 2025

Now in its ninth year, The Bascom’s Photography Artist Residency continues to be a catalyst for artistic growth and community engagement, bringing nationally recognized talent to the Plateau.

This highly competitive program provides artists with dedicated time, space, and resources to deepen their practice while enriching connections with the local community. As a cornerstone of The Bascom’s commitment to artist development, exhibitions, and outreach, the residency expands access to contemporary visual arts and encourages dialogue around the evolving role of photography.

The program culminates in a solo exhibition in The Bascom’s Joel Gallery, offering visitors an opportunity to experience photography’s power to document, interpret, and reimagine the world around us.

The Bascom is pleased to welcome Margaret Holland Adams as its 2025 Photography Artist in Residence. A professor of photography at Radford University and an accomplished artist and curator, Adams explores themes of cultural identity, memory, and the shifting landscape of the American South.

Through a compelling blend of analog photography, video installations, and new media, she constructs visual narratives that intertwine personal and collective histories. Drawing from Southern vernacular traditions and oral storytelling, her work engages with pressing social and environmental issues while examining the enduring legacies of family and heritage.

By integrating traditional and contemporary techniques, Adams invites viewers to consider the intersections of place, memory, and transformation.

Adams’ work has received widespread recognition, including being named “Best Fine Art Photographer” by FotoWeek DC, and is featured in The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes by Christopher James.

Her residency at The Bascom reflects the organization’s mission to make the visual arts accessible and transformative. Through exhibitions, artist talks, and community engagement, Adams will contribute to thought-provoking artistic experiences that generate new possibilities for inquiry and connection.

Join us in welcoming Margaret Holland Adams to the Plateau. Her solo exhibition will open on April 26 in The Joel Gallery, with a public reception on June 12.