Adkins’s work straddles the line between documentary and fine art, from the bold, confrontational, and colorful images in her latest project, Queen, a look at what it means to be a drag queen in the deep south to her black and white photographs from her series, MIDWAY, an exploration of the carnival. Her more introspective projects include Walks with Wren where, in addition to capturing the natural environment on walks with her daughter during the Covid pandemic, she also begins to play with the concept of creating images in a new way, arranging found objects and photographing them. In her series Un/Natur/al, she curates images she has taken over the years that reflect the overlap of the natural world with man-made influences.
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Regardless of subject, the common theme that persists throughout her work is the notion of layers. In some work this presents itself in a literal way, with overlapping visual planes. In others, this is purely metaphorical and it comes not only from the subjects she photographs but more subtly, herself, as an artist and the infinite layers she presents and reflects in her work. Her images create a dialogue with viewers, to not only think about the more obvious layers but to reflect on those that are hidden.
About
Katie Adkins is a documentary photographer and freelance photojournalist living in Little Rock, Arkansas. Originally a native of Atlanta, GA, she graduated from the Savannah College of Art & Design and soon after moved to western South Dakota. After spending more than eight years in the midwest, she has now settled back in the south, closer to home. Katie has worked in the art industry for many years, as artist, photojournalist, and curator.
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As a photojournalist Adkins’s photos have been published in The Associated Press, Financial Times (London), KFF Health News, The New York Times, Time Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The Guardian, USA Today, and The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
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Adkins has worked with Magnum photographers Martin Parr and Alex Webb along with Rebecca Norris-Webb on their creative projects including Martin Parr's commissioned show for The High Museum of Art's "Picturing the South" series in 2012.​
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Adkins was recently accepted to the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts's 2025-2027 (and previously 2023-2025) Artist Registry, a juried list of 40 Arkansas women artists. Her work has been featured in a number of publications including the French publication, OpenEye Magazine.
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Her work has been exhibited in solo, group and juried exhibitions in galleries across the southern and midwestern United States and can be found in public and private collections. Katie is represented by Boswell Mourot Fine Art Gallery. For more information, visit boswellmourot.com.