Shann Thomas

Shann Thomas began learning how to make films in 2010 as a mentor at Reel Grrls. Their first film was an advocacy video for a friend who was threatened with deportation due to a minor drug charge. Ultimately through many people’s efforts, Shann’s friend won the court case and Shann’s vision for connecting social justice and visual imagery was cemented. They have since gone on to create a spectrum of documentary, experimental, and narrative visual work that seeks to recover and reclaim the humanity of historically marginalized peoples.

Shann received 2018 GAP Award funding for their work on Gender Gems, a large-scale photo installation that honors the lives and work of transgender and gender diverse elders in the Puget Sound region. The installation is currently on view at the Vera Project in the Seattle Center through December 2018.