about
valentina soto-ruiz (b. 1996) is an interdisciplinary artist, environmental justice researcher, and food systems practitioner from Medellín, Colombia, currently based in the Washington, D.C. area.
Growing up between Medellín's urban landscape and the Colombian countryside shaped her understanding of the intimate relationships between human and more-than-human worlds. Her artistic practice explores these connections through photography and bookmaking, centering themes of memory, place-based knowledge, cultural identity, decoloniality, and spiritual ecology.
Valentina holds a BFA in Photography with minors in Book Arts and Sustainability & Social Practice from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), and an MA in Global Environmental Policy with a concentration in Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Justice from American University. Her work bridges creative practice, research, and community-based action.
Her photography and artist books have been exhibited at galleries including Terrault Contemporary and Flip Gallery in Baltimore, as well as MICA's Gateway, Rosenberg, and Wilgus galleries. She has presented research at the Dimensions of Political Ecology conference and co-authored reports on labor rights and transparency in global seafood supply chains. Her work has been published in international publications including FOTOSFER.
Currently, Valentina works in bilingual food access programming in Washington, D.C., supporting communities experiencing food insecurity. She is co-founder of the Political Ecology Working Group and continues to explore how art, research, and practice can serve the transformation toward more just and regenerative futures. Her work is rooted in values of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and reverence for all beings.
contact
valentinasotophotography@gmail.com