Dana Mariko Chang ’15 (Photography BFA, Ecosystems, Sustainability and Justice minor) is an Oakland-based artist and photographer with a focus on the intersection of food and community. Growing up in Northern California, her family taught her the role of food as a connector: food ties together communities, relationships, cultures, and families. Whether it be a tangerine grown in her grandmother’s backyard or salmon caught by her mother in the San Francisco Bay, she learned that food should be grown and prepared with care; a meal became an expression of love between individuals.

Dana began exploring food and photography while earning a BFA in Photography at MICA, where she developed relationships with chefs and farmers with a commitment to sustainability in Baltimore.  and  are the culminating photo journalistic books she produced to celebrate these chefs and farmers. After earning my degree, she moved back to California to work as a Producer and Photographer at a commercial food photography studio for over 6 years. Select clients include Williams-Sonoma, San Francisco Chronicle, Good Eggs, the North Face, Adobe, Queer Soup Night.

Q: What advice would you give a future art student?
A: Stay curious! Take classes that interest you regardless of how “useful” you think they’ll be for your career. I loved Typography with Tony Rutka and Urban Theory with Kate Khatib and John Duda- and I find myself still referring to the information from those classes to this day.

Q: What are you up to now?
A: I am currently a photographer for Williams Sonoma. On any given day I could be shooting food, cookware, cutlery, or sometimes even furniture- there’s never a dull moment!

Q: What are your future plans/aspirations?
A: I’d love to shoot a cookbook!