photo of Robin Hammond

Robin Hammond

Founder
Witness Change

The winner of two World Press Photo prizes, the RF Kennedy Journalism Award, five Pictures of the Year International Awards, the W.Eugene Smith Award for Humanistic Photography, and the recipient of five Amnesty International awards for Human Rights journalism, Robin Hammond has dedicated his career to documenting human rights and development issues around the world through long term photographic projects.

In 2015 Robin was named by Foreign Policy as one of the “100 Leading Global Thinkers”.

Robin has published three books, two as the result of awards. First, was his book on life in Zimbabwe under the rule of Robert Mugabe, ‘Your Wounds Will Be Named Silence.’ Secondly, his long term project on mental health in Africa, ‘Condemned.' His third book, ‘My Lagos’, was published in September 2016.

Robin has made a wide variety of other photographic bodies from the impact of climate change on Pacific Island communities to rape used as a weapon of war in Congo and Bosnia, the poisoning of ecosystems by multi-nationals in developing countries, to cover stories for National Geographic on Gender and immigration to Europe.

His latest work on homophobia and trans-phobia around the world, ‘Where Love Is Illegal’, has become a popular social media campaign gaining 100,000 followers in the first three months after it launched, and has been exhibited around the world and featured in many publications including on the cover of Time Magazine. It was the subject of his TEDx Talk delivered in November 2015.

Robin is the founder of Witness Change, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing human rights through highly visual story telling.

His work has appeared on television, online and worldwide in magazines and newspapers. He is a National Geographic and Time Magazine contributing photographer.

Born in New Zealand, Robin has lived in Japan, South Africa, and France. He is currently based in the United Kingdom. He is represented by NOOR.

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

Events featuring Robin Hammond
Events featuring Robin Hammond