Jess T. Dugan uses photography to explore the grey areas in gender and sexuality; and to celebrate the lives of gender non conforming and trans people. Her work vacillates between highly personal portraiture of herself and people in her life; and intentionally political work that serves to insert imagery of people in the LGBTQ community into the mainstream. She’s being recognized for “To Survive on this Shore”; a series of photographs and interviews that tell the stories of transgender people over fifty all over the United States. Created in collaboration with her partner Vanessa Fabbre, the project aims to give voice to the struggles and joys of getting older as a trans person.