Art Arden is a photographer who has worked with queer and trans communities for numerous years. Art works primarily in 35mm film, exploring alternative forms of portraiture and how to represent someone without necessarily showing their face or their whole self in a less staged manner. He aims to explore the boundaries of photography and how it intersects with other forms of media to showcase both communities and individuals in those communities in full. He enjoys working with both colour and black and white film, and has also worked with digital in photographing events such as drag shows and fire spinning showcases. He aims to explore typically underrepresented communities, ranging from candids to staged photographs and from documentary work to a more experimental side of film. He interrogates themes of community and connection through alternative portraiture, and the relationship between queerness (in all its forms) and identity.

Much of their work has been self-published and they have often worked with other artists, including recently in a show titled Queer 4 Queer Lens and previously in zines published by other creators, as well as in an exhibit at the Frances Lehman Loeb Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. They have also taken a course at the International Center for Photography in New York City virtually. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Media Studies, which allows a multifaceted approach to photography informed by art history, psychology, anthropology, queer studies and more.