Ash McDowell
Moving Images
As an artist, my goal is to tell stories that impact people. I'm passionate about working on projects that deal with real issues affecting real people, and I believe that art has the power to make people think, feel and develop their ideas and beliefs.
Get to Know Me
Personal Profile
Growing up I was surrounded by art. I attended summer performances at The American Players Theater in Wisconsin with my family and brought my love of those performances to my high school troupe, where I learned about set design and construction. I then moved from Iowa to Chicago to pursue my BA in Filmmaking at Columbia College Chicago. Through my degree work and since graduating in 2022, I've worked primarily in production design, construction, and fabrication.
I am most inspired by the feeling of wonder that we have as children, when the world is gorgeous and unknown and new; when we can love with our whole selves and feel without reservation. I hope to evoke those feelings in my audience, and to do justice by stories that need to be told. My favorite stories to tell are those of marginalized groups, especially trans and queer people like myself. It is my goal in my art, as in my daily life, to break existing molds and redefine ideas of gender and sexuality.
Akira Kurosawa
"Being an artist means not having to avert one’s eyes"
