Claudia Holgado Chacón awarded the inaugural WOPHA Research Fellowship

WOPHA / 01.29.2024

We are thrilled to announce that Claudia Holgado Chacón has been awarded the inaugural WOPHA Research Fellowship for her project, “Julia Chambi: The First Andean and Peruvian Photographer.” 

The WOPHA Research Fellowship, made possible with support from the Green Family Foundation Trust, aims to support exemplary research proposals by candidates such as scholars, curators, and artists. The selected projects will be shared with the public through exhibitions and forums. The program funds the digital publication of innovative scholarship on women photographers from underrepresented communities.

Claudia Holgado Chacón is a photographer and researcher of Andean descent from Cusco. She holds a degree in Communication from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, a Master’s Degree in Visual Arts and Education from the University of Barcelona, and in Documentary Photography from the Image Center (Lima, Peru). Specializing in Andean photography history and the development of participatory photographic projects in the rural Andes, she is also a documentary photographer addressing themes of memory, cultural identity, and intangible heritage. Currently, she serves as a professor in the Communications Department of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Co-director of the short film “Julia se revela,” and Director of the Julia Chambi López Archive.

About the Project

Julia Chambi (1919–2003) was a Peruvian photographer and visual artist who faced and escaped the power schemes of her time, becoming not only an inexhaustible and multidisciplinary creator, but also a cultural and political manager who actively participated in the promotion of the arts, especially in southern Peru. She began her photographic activity at a very early age, collaborating in the studio of her father, Martin Chambi; in addition to this, she provided graphic input into various local media or institutions while building her own photographic portfolio. Julia Chambi also emerged as a cultural manager with an important role in the promotion of artistic expressions from Cusco. Her life story, her work and the context in which she lived form the central objective of this biographical research process. It seeks to collect information, gather memories and re-signify stories to recognize her as one of the first Andean and Peruvian photographers.

About Green Family Foundation

Green Family Foundation is a private family foundation that provides seed grants to support holistic programs that empower entire communities. Green Space Miami is the Green Family Foundation’s art space. Guided by the Foundation’s principles of inclusion, community empowerment and education, Green Space Miami centers marginalized stories at the intersections of lived experience, hosted in a space for dialogue. The mission of Green Space Miami is to be a catalyst for action around critical social issues, collaborating with community partners and educational institutions.