The photo shows a large crowd of standing women stretching far back. They are all facing in the same direction and some hold plackards. Many of the women are smiling and chatting to each other. The scene looks convivial.

Photographing peace around the world

Photographing acts of peace across Colombia, Nepal, Rwanda, Northern Ireland and more

by Tiffany Fairey

Examines diverse forms of peace photography by and with conflict-affected communities

Find out more about Imaging Peace

Click around the map to learn more about peace projects around the world!

Rwanda

In Rwanda, a photo-mentoring initiative run by the Kigali Centre for Photography builds visual agency and catalyses community dialogue. Youth from a rural community produce photo stories on issues of their choice, such as underage motherhood and masculinity, repositioning themselves as visual storytellers framing their own visions of inclusive, just peace.  They then hold Home Stay Exhibitions in their own homes, inviting neighbours and friends to discuss the often-sensitive stories depicted. Seeking to break down walls risen around people’s houses since the genocide, these exhibitions reclaim the home as a space for connection and use images to build trust and open, unscripted dialogue that breaks ingrained silences and fosters social healing.

  • The photo shows a closeup of three potatoes in a man's hands being offered forward to the camera. In the background is the man's torso. He is dressed in a white t-shirt and blue short sleeeved shirt. The rest of the background is out of focus and the man's neck and head are outside the frame. The potatoes are muddy ansd appear as if they have been recently harvested.
    My Father, the Potato Farmer. I want to tell the story of growing potatoes in our village. I want to show how we plant them, how they grow and the entire process through to harvest. It is a story that is close to me. My father is a potato farmer. The story is important because we grow so many potatoes in this region and the fluctuations in the potato prices affect us. We need to find a solution. Photo by Aline / Kigali Centre for Photography
  • The image shows a group of young people gathered in a modest, dimly lit room with earthen walls and a low ceiling lined with orange panels. A single exposed bulb hangs overhead, casting a warm glow. On the left, a young man in a yellow cap and grey hoodie points to a small grid of taped photographs on the wall. Holding a paper, he appears to lead a discussion or presentation. Around 15 participants—mostly young men, with a few women—watch attentively. Some hold cameras or printed photos, suggesting a photography workshop. Natural light enters through an open doorway on the right.
    Delphin hosts his Home Stay Exhibition Photo by Kigali Centre for Photography
  • A Black man walks past a sunlit wall of cracked, reddish-brown earth, his back and head facing the camera. He wears a dark cap, oversized grey jacket, and cream trousers. Tied to his back with a vibrant pink, green, and white cloth is a smiling Black child, facing the camera with a joyful grin. The child’s legs stick out from the cloth, wearing purple perforated sandals. The man's stride is casual yet purposeful, while the child’s radiant expression becomes the focal point. The weathered clay wall and scattered greenery contrast beautifully with the colorful fabric and warmth of the child’s smile.
    The Role of Men in Family and Society Photo by Delphin Mugisha / Kigali Centre for Photography
  • The close-up portrait shows a young Black woman slightly off-center, looking down with a shy expression and a soft smile. Her warm-toned skin and engaging eyes stand out. She grooms her long, thin braids, which fall past her shoulders. She wears a vibrant fuchsia-pink dress with a multicolored patterned top and solid pink bottom. The background is a rough, cracked earth wall in dark and reddish-brown tones. The contrast between her bright dress and the muted background highlights her presence. The overall mood is calm and peaceful.
    Pregnancy Not By Choice. Julienne Dushimimana Richard’s exhibition made me realize that this kind of project can impact. The way he is confident and how he is shaping his future – that is very exemplary to all of us.I was not shy to share my stories to him as my neighbour, and I felt that it was necessary to talk to him, because no one else was talking to me, he gave me hope to feel human and inspired me that i can still make it and achieve my visions. Photo by Richard Ingabire / Kigali Centre for Photography

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Colombia

In Colombia, six rural communities affected by decades of armed conflict used photography to visualise their own signs and indicators of peace, justice and co-existence. Working with Everyday Peace Indicators between 2020 and 2024, community members, from children to grandparents, created 114 photo stories, later exhibited across their villages on walls, homes and public buildings. Despite the difficulty of making the abstract, often mundane, concept of peace visible, their images are read as records of intention and choice, that challenge negative narratives, honour the dead and disappeared, and call for land, justice and services. Analysed for their recurring visual patterns and strategies, they reveal a peace that is plural and specific, rooted in daily practices and intergenerational resistance.

  • This black-and-white image depicts a family of five, their backs to the camera, standing or walking together on a grassy hill. Captured from ground level, the simple framing focuses on their silhouettes against the hill and open sky. The group includes two adults and three children in casual clothing, some holding hands, standing close as a unified family unit. Their body language is neutral, without overt emotion. The scene is set in natural daylight, with the textured grass in the foreground and soft foliage visible in the distance, creating a quiet, understated composition that emphasises togetherness and the shared moment.
    She wanted to be a sister in war and a daughter of whoever, and she went by an alias. Being there, she lived horror, she came to know great pain. She was wounded in combat, and her heart was also wounded, because of course she couldn’t free herself from love. Now she carries real love with her, a pure and sincere love, a love for life. All there is to say is that they’re there, living among us, they rebuilt their familes and they’re helping to transform the community. Photo by Yesica Alejandra Zapata David, San José de Urama Photography Collective
  • The low-angle black-and-white image shows two children hiding under a bed, viewed from floor level. One, slightly older, peers out while the other covers their face, seemingly suppressing a giggle. A floral bedspread drapes from a simple wooden frame in the corner of a sparse room, its rough, bare brick walls suggesting poverty. Above the bed hang stuffed animals, framed photos, and a decorative wall hanging. The children’s expressions mix playfulness and apprehension. The monochrome palette heightens the nostalgic, slightly melancholic mood, contrasting innocence and hardship in the scene’s intimate, candid moment.
    Before, when you heard gunshots, everyone would run to hide under the bed or in some safe place in the house, and now kids hide under the bed or in safe places because they’re playing hide and seek. Photo by Yuliana Andrea David Hidalgo, Las Cruces Photography Collective
  • The photograph shows a close-up of a hand holding a shard of glass, reaching toward a cracked jar containing earth and a large tropical yellow flower. The jar, held by another hand with an open palm beneath it, remains intact despite its damage. The first hand, entering from the left, wears an army camouflage sleeve. Behind the jar, vibrant lighting transforms a plain white draped background into a rainbow gradient, shifting from pink to blue to yellow. The composition focuses on the interaction between the hands, the fragile jar, and the bright bloom, contrasting themes of fragility, resilience, and vivid beauty.
    Justice Indicator: The army pays for the victimizing acts it committed in the framework of the armed conflict. The most beautiful way of transformation towards a peaceful world is the transcendence of the truth, the recognition of errors and the contribution to their amendment, which, although it does not erase the scars of the soul, allows a new beginning, without uncertainty, and with colorful hope, for our new generations. Photo by Yeimy Paola Delgado, AECTR Antonio Nariño Photography Collective

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Nepal

In Nepal, three participatory visual archives weave distinct visual records of the country’s internal conflict and the obscured histories of feminism and social exclusion that surround it, filling gaps left by deficient transitional justice mechanisms. A People War gathered thousands of photographs into a book and travelling exhibition that reached 650,000 visitors nationwide; the Feminist Memory Project has collected over twelve thousand images tracing Nepali women’s activism since the 1940s; and Fading Memories preserves testimonies from survivors and former female combatants. Built collaboratively with contributors, these archives operate as sites of political contestation, opening new ways of seeing that subvert structural violence by centring marginalised and gendered stories, and insisting that Nepal’s conflict and its legacies are not yet resolved or forgotten.”

  • The photo shows a large crowd of standing women stretching far back. They are all facing in the same direction and some hold plackards. Many of the women are smiling and chatting to each other. The scene looks convivial.
    Kathmandu, Nepal. 1981 Women from all walks of life gather for a mass meeting in Kathmandu to submit a letter of protest to the government following the rape and murder of sisters Namita and Sunita Bhandari in Pokhara. Hisila Yami Collection | Nepal Picture Library
  • The photograph shows grayscale portrait of a woman in which some parts have been hand coloured. The woman is of apparent Southeast Asian or similar ethnic background. Her dark hair is pulled back and she starts directly into the camera, defiantly. She has a vertical red mark on her forehead, a bindi and is wearing elaborate necklaces and earrings. The necklaces appear to be made of multiple strands of small beads of different colors that have been hand painted on to the photograph in red, green and yellow. The necklaces drape around her neck and chest. Large earrings are visible as well. The image has a vintage aesthetic and feel.
    Photograph of Tharu women from Karjahi, Dang who led a peasants’ revolt in 1980 against local landlords. Karjahi landlords had taken to intimidating local peasants and vandalising their property with the help of the police, which in turn compelled these women to organise. Premkali Chaudhary Collection | Nepal Picture Library
  • In this diptych the top image shows an old, damaged passport photography of a young Asian woman in military uniform. The woman is situated infront of a slightly muted reddish-brown background. Her expression is neutral. In the image below is an outdoor scene in which a woman is seated in grassy field under a light-blue umbrella. She is dressed in a maroon-red top and is engaged in reading a light-colored book. The scene is bright, with a clear blue sky and some trees in the background.
    4008 Humiliated Soldiers Shova Rayamajhi was given a gun to fight the cause that she did not know then. She was just 11 years old when she took up the gun. She was discharged well before she became an adult. The UN Mission to Nepal (UNMIN) verified a total of 4,008 minors and discharged them empty handed. She realized that it was injustice to those who fought along with senior political leaders during the conflict. She missed her school education. She has been fighting for the rights of those whose childhood was robbed and they were rendered jobless. Although the government had earmarked Rs 200,000 per ‘disqualified’ child soldier to facilitate their return to the society, a writ petition was filed against the decision. The Court stayed the writ petition. Photos: Shova Rayamajhi Archive, Bikkil Sthapit Excerpt from 4008 Humiliated Soldiers, in ‘Memory, Truth & Justice’, VOW Media 2018, 78. Photos: Shova Rayamajhi Archive, Bikkil Sthapit

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Northern Ireland

In Belfast, Belfast Exposed, a national photography organisation founded during the Troubles, has long applied photography to support conflict-affected communities. This chapter examines its recent focus on therapeutic photography methods as a means of addressing intergenerational trauma and rising rates of mental illness. Using archival images, creative image-making, photo walks, collage and digital manipulation, facilitators support healing through mental well-being photography that lets participants reclaim control and rebuild agency, connecting with themselves and others. This trauma-attuned peace photography, underpinned by distinct ‘distract and disrupt’ techniques, is rooted in four decades of community relationships and works to break the culture of silence that has grown around conflict-related trauma.

  • A grassy field stretches out. The grass is bright green and lush. A low stone wall runs across the middle ground, with a small, dark opening or doorway in the wall. The wall is made of rough, gray stones. Deciduous trees of various sizes and shades of green form a line bordering the field. The trees are densely packed in the background, and the overcast sky is visible above. A narrow ditch or waterway runs through the field, partially lined with low-lying vegetation. The overall impression is one of a rural, somewhat historical, landscape on a cloudy day.
    Forkhill. Photo by Jim
  • The image shows two posters for the community photography organisation Belfast Exposed. The left poster, dated 1983, advertises a photographic exhibition. Its main graphic is two hands holding a camera, with text giving exhibition details. Across the centre, large print declares “Open To All.” The design is simple, using only white, dark blue, and black. The right poster, dated 1993, marks A Decade of Images. It features a collage of black-and-white photographs of everyday street and community life, especially portraits and groups. Beneath, bold text reads “Community Photography.” The date of the poster on the left is 1983 and on the right around the text ‘A Decade of Images’ are the dates 1983 and 1993.
    Early Belfast Exposed posters. Their original 1983 open call exhibition (left) and their 10 year anniversary exhibition in 1993 (right).
  • This collage and tracing artwork depicts a symmetrical urban street lined with rows of post-industrial terraced houses in muted tones, typical of the UK or Ireland. Repeating chimneys in blocky green and black strokes crown the rooftops, while simplified facades strip away detail. At the center, a silhouetted adult pushes a buggy with a child along the pale road, leading to a red-brick wall that anchors the vanishing point. A grey-green border frames the piece, marked with hand-drawn notations, while a pale lavender wash at the bottom adds a painterly quality. The overall mood is quiet, contemplative, and stark.
    Archival image with tracing and drawing. Created in Belfast Exposed workshop

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Mexico

In Chiapas, Mexico, the Chiapas Photography Project, an indigenous photography collective running for over thirty years, has worked with over five hundred Mayan photographers, building an archive of 120,000 images and eleven photobooks documenting language, cultural traditions and daily life. Set against centuries of colonial oppression and the ongoing violence suffered by indigenous communities, violence in which the camera itself is implicated, the photographers rarely depict conflict directly, instead focusing on their languages, customs and family histories, and often refusing outside audiences and commissions. The chapter reads this refusal, and the collective’s visual activities, as a form of slow peace photography that resists slow violence, safeguarding indigenous pluralism and reclaiming visual autonomy and co-existence on the photographers’ own terms.

  • This photo collage features a young indigenous Latin American girl shown from multiple angles in eight photographs arranged in a 4x2 grid. She wears a purple cardigan, brown skirt, and worn leather sandals, with bare feet. Her dark braided hair is adorned with bright pink tassels tied to ribbons, gathered at the back with a green ribbon. The images alternate between front and back views, her expressions subtly shifting—sometimes meeting the camera, sometimes looking away, quiet and serious yet not unhappy. The consistent background shows a plain concrete surface, possibly a rooftop or wall, with a blurred cityscape in the distance.
    Jun-ol Veruch Mi sobrina Verónica My niece Verónica Photo by Juana López López, 2000
  • The black and white image provides a close-up view taken from above of several large leaves in a pile lying on a dark, coarse ground surface. The leaves appear to be from a tropical plant, exhibiting prominent parallel veins running the length of each leaf. They are broad, oblong, and slightly folded or crumpled, lying on top of one another. The leaves lie on the ground that looks like soil, possibly compacted earth or gravel. It's rough in texture, with small stones and particles visible. The lighting is soft and diffused, with no harsh shadows.
    CH’UCH’ AK’alal chbat jk’okbetik tal spix pats’e mu la xtun jbiiltastik, mi la jbiiltastike mu xta’aj li patz’e; sepkantik tse sepkantik tok’on No mencionar el nombre de la hoja de bejao al envolver tamales. Al cortar hoja de bejao para envolver tamales, no se debe mencionar su nombre, porque no se cuecen bien las tamales: salen pedazos coincides y pedazos crudos. Do not mention the name of the bento leaf when you make tamales. When the bear leaf is cut to make tamales, it is not good to mention its names because then the tamales do not cook well; some pieces com out cooked and others raw. Photo by Maruch Sántiz Gómez
  • The image features a young girl, of Indigenous descent, bending over a bright red Coca-Cola bucket with her head submerged, arms gripping the rim. She wears a vibrant turquoise blouse with white and blue trim, a brownish-gray skirt, and a red woven sash—suggesting traditional attire. She's barefoot, one foot forward, against a rough light gray concrete wall. The ground is similar but smoother. Natural daylight illuminates the scene. The muted grays and browns of the wall and skirt contrast sharply with the saturated red of the bucket and sash, and the vivid turquoise blouse. The medium shot centers the girl in-frame.
    Li jmuk Ristinae tey ta stsebin ta valte. Mi hermanita Cristina está lavando su cabello en la cubeta. My little sister Cristina is washing her hair in the bucket. Photo by Xunka’ López Díaz, 2000

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Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Post-Conflict Research Centre uses its youth culture magazine MIR (‘Peace’) to counter the ethnic division that still shapes the country’s fragile post-war peace. Weaving together portraits, fashion, landscape and activism photography from across Bosnia’s ethnic groups, MIR showcases ‘ordinary heroes’, creative entrepreneurs, social justice campaigns and shared heritage. Drawing on contact theory, the chapter argues these plural, aspirational images act as a form of vicarious, indirect contact, inspiring inter-ethnic empathy and instilling the pride and hope that spark peace imaginaries, preparing Bosnian youth to imagine, and actively build, peaceful co-existence.

  • The photograph centers on a middle-aged couple seated closely on a beige sofa. The fair-skinned man, with short dark hair, wears a dark olive striped shirt and gray sweatpants. His arm is draped around his fair-skinned wife, who has shoulder-length light brown hair, dark-framed glasses, a burgundy sweater, and a plaid scarf. A light blue mask rests below her nose as she smiles softly. Between them, a lit menorah glows warmly, with eight visible candles. The home interior features a beige wall with framed art and a cream-shaded lamp. The muted palette includes earth tones and burgundy, creating a cozy, intimate atmosphere.
    Zlatica and Muhamed Kljuno, who are from Sarajevo first met in a skate rink when they were still at school. They are celebrating 28 years of happy marriage this year. Their life has been filled with love for each other and their two children. They believe that their different religions have brought a lot of prosperity and happiness into their life. They believe that the key to their successful marriage is that their differences complement each other perfectly – what one of them lacks the other one has. Zlatica recalls that when they first met, “These differences were not thought of at all, nor should they have been thought of. We were not brought up that way, and nobody knew what your religion was, nor did anyone ask.” Photography: Mitar Simikić. Interview: Anja Zulic
  • The photograph features two women standing against a white paneled wall. The woman on the left wears a long dark leather coat cinched with a wide black belt, and a black hijab. Her hands are in her pockets, her stance relaxed yet powerful, with a composed, serious expression. The woman on the right wears a dark abaya-style dress with flowing sleeves. She has dark brown hair, wears earrings, and stands with hands clasped, her expression serious but softer. A black clothing rack to the left holds three long-sleeved blouses—white, black, and black with white polka dots. The monochromatic palette conveys elegance and quiet strength.
    Sisters, Nermina Hodžić and Emina Hodžić Adilović, formed designer label Kaftan Studio, whose quality pieces are known for their recognizably expressive designs. They have achieved international success, worn on red carpets at the Oscars and featured in major fashion magazines. Their latest collection was inspired by unique and brave women. Kaftan Studio embodies freedom of choice, tolerance, respect for diversity, mutual understanding, love and acceptance through their creative work. For the sisters, their work is something of a manifesto for freedom Photo by Jasmin Agoić and story by Anđela Knežević
  • The image shows a diptych of two vibrant, psychedelic artworks side-by-side, both featuring the word MIR (Peace in Bosnian) at the top. The left panel depicts a cartoonish dog-like astronaut with wide eyes and a large mouth, floating amid swirling cosmic elements and a smaller astronaut observing. The right panel presents a spiritual scene: a white dove with an olive branch atop a stack of whimsical characters, including a girl with purple hair and three-eyed creatures. Religious symbols subtly appear in the psychedelic background. Both share bold outlines and vivid colors but contrast space adventure with peace and unity themes.
    MIR covers 2020 & 2022, Artwork by Damir Balić.
  • The photograph centers on a middle-aged couple seated on a light sage green leather sectional sofa. The woman, with auburn hair and a pensive expression, wears a dark sleeveless top and skirt, her hands clasped in her lap. Her husband, with short graying hair and a strong build, wears an olive-green t-shirt and khaki shorts, his arm gently around her shoulders. He gazes directly but somberly. Behind them is a pale yellow-cream wall adorned with gold-framed paintings of landscapes, portraits, and still life. A vintage stereo and air conditioner hint at a cozy, lived-in home.
    Olga and Zijad met in the 1970s at a college disco: “He asked me to dance and that’s how it started.” Not only is their own marriage a “mixed” one – Zijad is from a Muslim background and Olga Serbian Orthodox – but those of all of their siblings are too. Zijad emphasises just how normal it was before the war: “Nobody cared about those things. Believe me, it was nothing.” They both lament how local leaders and politicians have instrumentalised ethno-national identity and religion ever since the war, and they are proud to have brought up their daughters with civic values instead, which, they say, are what civilised societies are founded on. Photography: Mitar Simikić. Interview: Armin Halilović

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About the author

Tiffany Fairey is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London. Her research concentrates on creative and community peacebuilding with a focus on visual peace research. As founder and former director of the award-winning UK charity PhotoVoice she pioneered ethical practice in participatory image-making and is an established photovoice specialist with over 25 years’ experience working on projects with partners around the world. She has held a Leverhulme Fellowship and been awarded the Royal Photographic Society’s Hood Medal. Her other publications include Peace Photography: A Guide.

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