About Kiara
BASED IN
Cape Town, South Africa
CLIENTS
-
UN Climate Change
-
UN Environment Program
-
UN Department for Global Communications
-
UN Partnerships
-
Minamata Convention
-
Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions
-
NAP Global Network
-
International Institute for Sustainable Development
-
International Union for Conservation of Nature
-
Global Environmental Facility
I grew up across South Africa and have spent most of my adult life in motion, between Cape Town and countries around the world, between negotiation halls, field assignments and the places that pull at me and won’t let go.
My work began in community development, consulting on projects in Africa focused on livelihoods, land, and the slow machinery of sustainable development. That work eventually led me to Papua New Guinea, where I spent more than five years in some of the most remote and diverse corners of the world. Something about being surrounded by ancient landscapes and the stories people were willing to share changed how I understood my role in the development space. I started using photography and writing to document what I was witnessing not just as evidence, but as something to inspire the human heart.
From there, I began working as a photographer for the International Institute for Sustainable Development, documenting the global negotiations on environment and development, covering topics such as climate change, biodiversity, chemicals management, the sustainable development goals the full architecture of environmental policy. This work led me to become the lead photographer for UN Climate Change, the UN Environment Programme, the Minamata Convention, the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, UN Partnerships, and even to accompany the UN Secretary-General on his missions. I have now covered more than a decade of these processes, and my photographs have been published in the New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and countless other international publications.
My work has taken me down many paths. I have been an international youth delegate, lectured postgraduate level university courses, helped to run training and development programs for youth across South Africa, and been a writer and editor.
I hold a PhD in Political Science, which explored how local power dynamics shape decisions for sustainability the push and pull between government, industry, and the people most directly affected. It gave me a framework to understand the shifts of power within the international arena and to enhance the stories I was trying to tell through my photographs.
The thread between all of this work has always been storytelling, through both photography and writing. Whether within negotiating halls following global policy, or out in the field documenting change from the ground up, my work is grounded in the belief that stories are how change actually moves through the world. To overcome the challenges that exist, to imagine what else might be possible, stories are essential to transforming the human heart.
I am always looking for meaningful collaborations, particularly in the fields of environmental and sustainability communication. If this work resonates, I would love to hear from you.