Through her photography and filmmaking, she aims to challenge stereotypes, amplify marginalized voices, and create a more inclusive and just world.

Cressandra “Cress” Thibodeaux is an accomplished visual artist and filmmaker currently pursuing an MFA at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design. Her work spans photography, video, and performance, with a focus on exploring themes of identity, culture, and social justice. Cress’s artistic practice is informed by her upbringing in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and the South, as well as her experience as an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Cress’s interest in the visual arts was inspired by her father, a musician and photographer who gifted her a Pentax K1000 camera at the age of eighteen. This moment sparked a lifelong passion for visual storytelling. Her work often addresses critical issues facing Indigenous people, such as her recent series of portrait photographs, Blood Quantum, which counters the US government’s erasure of Native Americans and celebrates Indigenous resilience.

Before attending U-M, Cress earned an MFA in Screenwriting from the Institute of American Indian Arts and an MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University. She has directed several award-winning documentaries, including “Jesse Lott: Art & Activism and Theremin Fever.” Cress is also the founder of 14 Pews, a microcinema in Houston, Texas, where she curated over 700 films and 10 art shows. She also created 14 Pews Film Academy, where she taught high school students the art of filmmaking.

Her work has been exhibited at prestigious venues such as Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland, Fotofest in Houston, and the Station Museum of Contemporary Art, among others. Cress is driven by a deep sense of responsibility to use her art as a means of advocacy, particularly for Indigenous rights and representation. Through her photography and filmmaking, she aims to challenge stereotypes, amplify marginalized voices, and create a more inclusive and just world.

CEW+ applauds Cress’s visions and names her an Elsie Choy Lee Scholar.