Born and raised Midwesterner calling Northern California home for 20 years. Passionate about human- and environment-centric projects that mobilize my core strengths of deep observation, adaptability, and connection. Also an environmental technology project and people manager of nearly 10 years.

My start in photography buoyed in the wake of the Great Recession, as political protests roiled through the San Francisco Bay Area. My coverage of these events led me to The Oakland Post, the largest African-American weekly newspaper in Northern California, among other local lifestyle and academic magazines. From 2012 to 2017, I ventured across police lines, into the homes of well-heeled entrepreneurs, ringside at sold-out boxing arenas, kitchens of buzzy restaurants, and everyday spaces in-between. Sometimes, while solo traveling in Latin America and North Africa, I took photos for small business owners in exchange for a place to sleep.

Today, I am a mother to strong-willed twin girls who push my practice further into mutual vulnerability and evolution. I am open to travel and collaborate with writers, journalists, and non-profit organizations.

Photo by A. Souhil, 2025.





Exhibits
2024  

Momentum, curated by Malcolm Wallace
Oakland Photo Workshop, Oakland, CA (Group)

Return, APAture Festival, curated by Tanza Solis and Ngân Vũ
Arc Gallery & Studios, San Francisco, CA (Group)

Seize The Gaze, curated by Susan Almazol with Eric Murphy
Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland, CA (Group)

2023

The Stories We Tell, curated by Jessica Chen
Oakland Photo Workshop Gallery, Oakland, CA (Group)

2017

Shifting Movements, curated by Michelle A. Lee
SoMArts Gallery, San Francisco, CA (Group)

2016

TOUGH
The Wall at 1920C, San Francisco, CA (Group)

Aesthetic Blitz, curated by Kelsay Myers
The Sequoias Rotunda, San Francisco, CA (Group)

2015    

A Place of Her Own, curated by Cynthia Tom
SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA

En La Luchita: Scenes From a Cuban Boxing Gym, curated by Black Moon
William High Gallery at Laney College, Oakland, CA (Solo)

Knockout: Boxing Art, curated by Lena Verderano Reynoso
The Compound Gallery, Oakland, CA (Group)

2013

underCurrents and the Quest for Space, curated by Linda Inson Choy
SoMArts Gallery, San Francisco, CA (Group)

Awards and Grants


2024

CatchLight Scholarship, NDA Workshop
New Orleans, LA

2016    

2nd Place in Pro Category: Sports - Other
International Photography Awards

2015  

Artist Residency, A Place of Her Own
San Francisco, CA

Panels and Presentations

2024  

Artist Panel, APAture Festival Visual Arts
Arc Gallery & Studios, San Francisco, CA

Artist Panel, Seize the Gaze
Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland, CA

2023  

Artist Panel, The Stories We Tell
Oakland Photo Workshop Gallery, Oakland, CA

2017  

Guest Speaker, First Exposures
San Francisco, CA

2016    

Guest Speaker, Photojournalism
Laney College, Oakland, CA

2015    

Artist Panel, A Place of Her Own
SoMArts Gallery, San Francisco, CA
  
Guest Speaker, Photojournalism
Laney College, Oakland, CA

2014    

Panelist, A Day in the Life of Asian America
Chinese Historical Society, San Francisco, CA








Laura Ming Wong © 2025