Ella Floyd
Based in Richmond. Raised in Appalachia.
Based in Richmond. Raised in Appalachia.
Biography: Ella Floyd is an interdisciplinary artist and communications coordinator based in Richmond, Virginia. Originally from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Southwest Virginia, Floyd brings a rural sensibility and critical lens to her practice, exploring intersections of identity, media, and regional storytelling. She earned her BFA in Photography + Film from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in 2024. Floyd’s current body of work, Say When, questions how female-identifying folk articulate sexual desires and personal boundaries within performance-driven and image-saturated digital cultures. Her lens-based practice merges staged and documentary research strategies to navigate vulnerability, agency, and self-representation. Floyd’s thesis project, Where Light Divides the Holler, was exhibited at The Anderson Gallery and reflects on disrupted familial and personal archives in relation to Appalachian folklore. Her work has been exhibited at The Anderson (Richmond, VA), Page Bond Gallery (Richmond, VA), The Virginia Museum of History and Culture (Richmond, VA), and included in From These Hills: Contemporary Art in the Southern Appalachian Highland (Abingdon, VA), among others. In 2023, she was selected as the Appodlachia Appalachian Visual Artist of the Year and presented her work at the Candela Gallery (Richmond, VA). She currently serves as the Communications Coordinator for CARITAS, supporting recovery-based initiatives across the Commonwealth. Deeply committed to representing Appalachian culture and Substance Use Disorders with complexity and care, Floyd uses photography, video, and installation to confront media stereotypes of poverty, sexuality, and drug use, often stating: “If I don't tell this story, no one will.” When she’s not working, she’s often found near water - rivers, waterfalls, or any place that offers a return to slowness.
Education:
Bachelor of Fine Arts - Photography and Film Concentration, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Richmond, Virginia
Bachelor of Fine Arts - Photography and Film Concentration, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Richmond, Virginia
Selected Experience:
2025 Communications Coordinator, CARITAS, Richmond, VA
Plays a key role in supporting the development team by executing communication strategies that engage donors, volunteers, supporters, and the broader community. Responsible for content creation, social media management, email marketing, and other storytelling initiatives that enhance fundraising efforts and strengthen the organization's mission and brand.
Plays a key role in supporting the development team by executing communication strategies that engage donors, volunteers, supporters, and the broader community. Responsible for content creation, social media management, email marketing, and other storytelling initiatives that enhance fundraising efforts and strengthen the organization's mission and brand.
2024 Outreach Specialist, Rams in Recovery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Content Creator - Candidate will manage all social media and email marketing platforms for Rams in Recovery, the collegiate recovery program at Virginia Commonwealth University. and the School of the Arts. Featured programming includes a network of Free Hot Coffee Bikes, the Free Narcan Bike, the Recovery Ally Choir, and a series of events, meetings, and retreats available to VCU students. Candidate is also responsible for photographing and sharing all media coverage of Rams in Recovery Events.
Content Creator - Candidate will manage all social media and email marketing platforms for Rams in Recovery, the collegiate recovery program at Virginia Commonwealth University. and the School of the Arts. Featured programming includes a network of Free Hot Coffee Bikes, the Free Narcan Bike, the Recovery Ally Choir, and a series of events, meetings, and retreats available to VCU students. Candidate is also responsible for photographing and sharing all media coverage of Rams in Recovery Events.
2024 Research Assistant - Content Creator for the Fifty/Fifty Health and Wellness Promotion Project, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Content Creator - Candidate will assist Photo+Film Faculty John D. Freyer with the coordination/promotion of his Fifty/Fifty health and wellness promotion project. Freyer works in partnership with VCU’s Collegiate Recovery Program Rams In Recovery and the School of the Arts. Fifty/Fifty programming includes a network of Free Hot Coffee Bikes, the Free Narcan Bike, the Recovery Ally Choir and a series of innovative social practice artworks including Free Ice Water and Free Hot Supper.
Content Creator - Candidate will assist Photo+Film Faculty John D. Freyer with the coordination/promotion of his Fifty/Fifty health and wellness promotion project. Freyer works in partnership with VCU’s Collegiate Recovery Program Rams In Recovery and the School of the Arts. Fifty/Fifty programming includes a network of Free Hot Coffee Bikes, the Free Narcan Bike, the Recovery Ally Choir and a series of innovative social practice artworks including Free Ice Water and Free Hot Supper.
2024 Co-Director of Good Food and Healthy Artists, The Sable Project, Stockbridge, VT
2024 CPC Senior Panel, VCUarts, Richmond, Virginia
2023 Behind The Scenes Photographer - VA Lottery “Happy Holidays”, Spang TV, Richmond, Virginia
2023 Chair, VCUarts Photography Senior Class of 2024, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Richmond, Virginia
Trusted with providing leadership and direction to the committee, the Chair(s) are responsible for ensuring that the committee fulfills its responsibilities for the overall success of the Senior class events. The Chair(s) are generally the spokesperson and should work to maintain key relationships within and outside the committee.
Trusted with providing leadership and direction to the committee, the Chair(s) are responsible for ensuring that the committee fulfills its responsibilities for the overall success of the Senior class events. The Chair(s) are generally the spokesperson and should work to maintain key relationships within and outside the committee.
2023 Behind The Scenes Photographer - Little Caesar’s “Burn the Burns”, Spang TV, Richmond, Virginia
2023 Administrative Assistant, Creative World Awards, Richmond, Virginia
2023 Assistant to the Producer, Richmond International Film Festival, Richmond, Virginia
2023 Film, Arts, and Business Fellow, RIFF Arts Institute, Richmond, Virginia
Includes various weekly engagements, assignment projects, mentorship and industry networking opportunities, as well as a program that puts things into practice as a RIFF Core Team Member and/or Apprentice under the direct care and supervision of RIFF's Founder & Producer, Heather Waters. Additional learning and shadowing opportunities will be offered at certain times of the year via staff, board members, and select industry partners.
2023 Outreach and Core Team Committee, Richmond International Film Festival, Richmond, Virginia
2023 Key Video and Photography, Richmond International Film Festival, Richmond, Virginia
2022 Artist In Residency + Graphic Design, Richmond International Film Festival, Richmond, Virginia
2021 Director of Social Media, Rowdy Rams (VCU Athletics), Richmond, Virginia
Responsible for managing and creating photographic content for social media accounts (Twitter,Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat) for the official student section of VCU Athletics. Update social media accounts regularly, to include in-game and out of game content.
2021 Studio Photography Intern, Evergreen Enterprises, Midlothian
Responsible for providing lifestyle and silo photography for multi-channel marketing initiatives, including, catalogs, internet, retail and other collateral pieces, producing quality images by photographing product in the studio and/or on location. Product categories include hard and soft goods, home furnishings, yard and garden.
Selected Exhibitions:
2025 In Bloom, Gallery 5, Richmond, Virginia
2025 Recovery in Practice, Murray DePillars Building, Richmond, Virginia
2025 Research to Recovery: Creative Coalition, The Anderson, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
2025 Research in Practice: Creative Coalition, Institute for Contemporary Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
2025 Research in Practice: Creative Coalition, 1708 Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia2025 Recovery in Practice: Creative Coalition, Seipel Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
2024 One Night Only, Aisle Isle, Richmond, Virginia
2024 To Think We Were Ever Apart, Saffron Hall, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts - Doha Campus, Doha, Qatar
2024 One Night Only, Aisle Isle, Richmond, Virginia
2024 To Think We Were Ever Apart, Saffron Hall, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts - Doha Campus, Doha, Qatar
2024 EMERGE, Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
2024 Sitting at a Red Light, Hanbury, Richmond, Virginia
2024 When Does A Garden Stop Growing? BFA Thesis Capstone, The Anderson Gallery, VCUarts, Richmond, Virginia
2024 From These Hills: Contemporary Art in the Southern Appalachian Highlands, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, Virginia
2023 Growing Pains: Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, The Anderson, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Richmond, Virginia
2023 From These Hills: Contemporary Art in the Southern Appalachian Highlands, William King Museum of Art, Abingdon, Virginia
2023 Global Visionary Summit Open Walkthrough, Virginia Museum of History and Culture + Richmond International Film Festival, Richmond, Virginia
2022 ACTION/STASIS Group Exhibition, The Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Richmond, Virginia
2021 Splitting: Looking for Trouble I Cannot Find, The Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Richmond, Virginia
Awards and Residencies:
2024 Honorable Mention - Best In Show, VCUarts, Richmond, Virginia
2024 Most Outstanding Photography Senior Awards, VCUarts, Richmond, Virginia
2024 Department of Photo & Film Chair's Award for Excellence, VCUarts, Richmond, Virginia
2023 Appalachian Visual Artist of the Year, Appodlachia, Parkersburg, West Virginia
2023 The Anderson “Ande” Award: Distinction in Photography, The Anderson Gallery, Richmond, Virginia2023 Team Spirit and Resiliency Award, Richmond International Film Festival, Richmond, Virginia
2023 Photo + Video Documentation of Water in the Wood, The Sable Project, Stockbridge, Vermont
2023 Resident Artist, The Sable Project, Stockbridge, Vermont
2023 Most Outstanding Photography Junior Award, VCUarts, Richmond, Virginia
2022 Finalist - Appalachian Visual Artist of the Year, Appodlachia, Parkersburg, West Virginia
2022 Volunteer of the Year Award, Richmond International Film Festival, Richmond, Virginia
Panels:
2025 Creative Coalition Workshop - Recovery in Practice Portland, The Alano Club of Portland, Portland, Oregon
2025 Creative Coalition Workshop, The Healing Place for Women at CARITAS, Richmond, Virginia
2025 Creative Coalition Banner Unveiling - Recovery in Practice VCU, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
2024 Free Hot Coffee Bike Panel Discussion - Recovery in Practice UK, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
2024 Where Light Divides the Holler Artist Talk, Candela Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
Publications:
2026 You’re Not Seeing Things Magazine - Issue 10, Morgantown, West Virginia
2023 Shockoe Sessions Live! Interview, In Your Ears Studio, Richmond, Virginia 2023 Pearl Press - Issue 18 “High School,” online publication
2023 You’re Not Seeing Things Magazine - Issue 2, Morgantown, West Virginia
2023 You’re Not Seeing Things Magazine - Issue 2, Morgantown, West Virginia