Ava Schrag is an artist born and raised in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Photography and Filmmaking and a minor in Environmental Studies. Ava works in documentary photography, farming, bookmaking, and puppet-making. Her work is centered around family, love, and relationships to land, food, and community. Ava attended the 2026 A2ru Emerging Creatives Student Summit and presented her photography recipe book, "Make Food with Love", at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research. In 2025, she was the recipient of an Undergraduate Research Fellowship for “Make Food with Love”. She worked as Exhibitions Coordinator for her BFA thesis class where she led her cohort in capstone events such as portfolio reviews, artist talks, and their BFA thesis show, "A Space Between Beginning", which Ava co-curated.