Danielle “deo” Owensby (she/they) is an artist and educator who focuses on contemporary applications of photography to explore memory, trauma, loss, and nostalgia. She incorporates installation, performance, and collage into her practice, often drawing from personal encounters to create visual dialogues that resonate with viewers on a profound and empathetic level.
Deo has shown their work internationally in venues such as the Knockdown Center in New York, New York; Melbourne Art Center in Melbourne, Australia; University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her work has been published in various publications, from art books to blogs and is in private collections around the globe.
She has taught in a variety of institutional contexts, from K-12 to private art schools and private tutoring to community colleges. Their pedagogy is based in culturally responsive teaching practices and teaching photography as a tool for individual and collective empowerment.
Currently, deo is a photography instructor at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, MI and teaches art and humanities at Schoolcraft College. She is also the editor of The Jade Plant Project, an open and free publication dedicated to sharing the stories of survivors of sexual violence.
When they aren't working, they love to take care of their houseplants and sing passionately (yet out of tune,) in the car.
