Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Charlot.
Vanessa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born to Haitian parents in Miami in the 80s, at a time when being Haitian had its fair share of challenges and often exacerbated by the misperceptions propagated by important voices in the media. Yet and still, being born and raised in Miami was a beautiful experience. My neighborhood was an enclave of Haitian pride. Despite the cultural pride, growing up there wasn’t easy and most of the people I knew growing up either left the area, are dead, or in jail. To get me away from some of those influences, my mom enrolled me into an arts magnet school. That’s how my lifelong passion for photography was born. Since that young age, I have committed myself to sharing raw, intimate portraits that challenge our commonly held notions about marginalized communities. Though I fell in love with photography at an early age, I didn’t know I would make it my career until I was living in Haiti 10 years ago after serving in the United States Army. As my career continues to take me into some of the most prestigious publications nationally and internally, I love knowing that my lens
challenges the preconceived notions of Black and Brown bodies giving me the space to create work, free of an oppressive gaze, that centers the people whose lives are at the intersections of race, identity, politics, and economics.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The idea of my photography career being a smooth path or not has really came from the internal dialogues I have had with myself over the years. I remember finally giving myself the permission call myself an artist. It was a huge pivotal moment for me because I did not know what the life of a photographer who intentionally focuses on Black and Brown stories would be like. The idea of the unknown in the beginning was struggle. As an artist and deeply introspective person, I find that I struggle with myself the most, balancing between the delicate act of unapologetically creating work that disrupts the photographic landscape and doing what is comfortable.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m an award-winning documentary photographer, filmmaker, lecturer and curator. My work focuses on the intersectionality of race, spirituality, economics and sexual/gender expression. I shoot primarily in black and white to disrupt compositional hierarchy and explore the immutability of the collective human experience. The purpose of my work is to produce visual representations free of an oppressive gaze. I seek to humanize Black bodies through my photography, restoring the dignity and vitality of those often shot as subjects divorced from context, motives, and histories.
I have worked throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Southeast Asia. My photographs have been commissioned by the New York Times, Gucci, Vogue, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Oprah Magazine, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Apple, New York Magazine, Buzzfeed, Artnet News, The Washington Post and other national and international publications. I lecture at the International Center of Photography. In 2021, I won the Courage in Journalism award presented by the International Women’s Media Foundation.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned due to the Covid-19 Crisis is to slow down and appreciate the love in your life. As Covid ravaged so many communities, I became both humbled and grateful by the community of family and friends that continue to pour themselves into me. I’m also equally grateful that I intentionally do that with those I love as well. The crisis made us face our own mortality in a very visceral way and grapple with the fact that our time on this planet is finite.
Contact Info:
- Website: vanessacharlot.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessa.charlot/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/vanessacharlot_?lang=en
Image Credits
All photographs have been taken by Vanessa Charlot
