Photography residency at Jalama Canyon Ranch will explore women, land, and power through site-specific portraiture
Santa Barbara County, CA — January 27, 2026 — White Buffalo Land Trust (WBLT) is pleased to announce photographer Julia Forrest as its next Artist in Residence, hosted at Jalama Canyon Ranch from January 27 to February 23, 2026.
Forrest, a Brooklyn-based fine art photographer, is widely recognized for her analog, process-driven practice that explores the relationship between women, landscape, and power. Working exclusively with film, Forrest builds and operates a portable darkroom on site, hand-processing each photograph in the field. Her work uses mirrors, reflections, and forced perspective to create illusionary images in which women appear as active agents within the landscape—shaping, transforming, and responding to it.
During her residency, Forrest will develop a new photographic series centered on women in the landscape, highlighting women across Santa Barbara County whose leadership, work, and presence shape the region across fields including land stewardship, agriculture, culinary arts, education, public service, and community care. The project will feature on-location portrait sessions in natural settings, developed in close collaboration with participants and grounded in the ecological context of the land.
“Forrest’s work invites us to reconsider how power, care, and responsibility are embodied in the landscape,” said Ana Smith, Director of Programs & Engagement at White Buffalo Land Trust. “By centering women whose leadership spans diverse fields, cultures, and lived experiences, this residency reflects our belief that our relationship to land is shaped not only by how it is managed, but by whose voices, stories, and presence are uplifted.”
Forrest’s practice draws from the historical relationship between the female form and the natural world, while responding to contemporary ecological change. Her photographs often evoke mythic or elemental figures—women seen as both witnesses to and participants in an ever-changing environment. Through this work, Forrest seeks to restore a sense of connection between people and place at a time when landscapes are increasingly shaped by climate pressure and human intervention.
“At White Buffalo Land Trust, I approach the land not as a backdrop but as a collaborator, listening to its history, ecology, and resilience.” said Julia, “By slowing down and working in dialogue with the landscape, I create images where women, land, and ecological stewardship intersect, honoring the land as a living system that holds memory, care, and the possibility of transformation.”
In addition to her creative work on the ranch, Forrest will engage with the broader community through educational outreach and public programming, including classroom visits and a culminating community event featuring a photo exhibition and artist talk. These engagements reflect the nonprofit’s commitment to integrating art, education, and land stewardship as interconnected pathways for cultural and ecological learning.
Julia Forrest is a recipient of grants from New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), The Jerome Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and she currently serves as a teaching artist at the Brooklyn Museum and Lehman College, where she emphasizes experimentation, curiosity, and expanded ways of seeing.
The Artist-in-Residence program at White Buffalo Land Trust supports artists whose work engages ecology, agriculture, and community, offering time and space for deep creative inquiry within a working landscape. Forrest’s residency continues this tradition, positioning art as a vital tool for storytelling, reflection, and cultural change.
Julia’s culminating exhibition and public reception will take place on Thursday, February 19, from 6–8pm in downtown Santa Barbara. This free community event has limited capacity and RSVPs are required to: programs@whitebuffalolandtrust.org.