What Makes Charlotte Hodges More Than a Photographer
“I am a storyteller; my art form depends on the story that needs to be told and my medium is determined by that which lends it optimum expression.”
Charlotte Hodges is a photographer, writer, artist and storyteller. Charlotte’s work includes themes of interconnectivity, solidarity, and responsibility for the environment are common in her work.
Charlotte Hodges for Epic Arts
In 2017, Charlotte went on assignment with PWB to document the work of Epic Arts, an organization in Cambodia that works with youth living with disabilities to offer learning, empowerment and employment through the arts. Epic Arts runs an arts program that involves dance, theatre and music, and also runs a cafe where students are employed through the centre.
“The inclusive arts program is a two-year course intended to prepare students with disabilities for a career in the arts, but its intent goes much deeper.”
“It’s a transformative course because these young people, usually between the age of 19 and 24, if they have a disability, they’ve usually been ostracized from their community. Often they come to us quite shy, they don’t believe in themselves. It’s really a two year course that focuses on the arts, but it’s much more about them learning about themselves and working out that they can do things. They can dance, they can sing, they can write a song,”
—Hayley Holden, Project Manager at Epic Arts
Charlotte Hodges for Epic Arts
“My biggest hope would be that I really portrayed everyone in the way that they would want to be portrayed,” said Hodges. “A lot of my editing process while I was there was showing the photos to my subjects and making sure what I was getting was the way that they wanted to see themselves as well.”
—Charlotte Hodges
Charlotte’s assignment for Epic Arts was featured in our print PWB Magazine Issue #10. You can find the article on our PWB Online Magazine as well.
Charlotte Hodges for Humanity Crew
In 2018, Charlotte went on her second assignment with PWB to Athens, Greece to spend some time with the team at Humanity Crew. Humanity crew is an organization that provides mental health services to refugees and people in crises all over the world; they have assisted 600,000 individuals from 10 different countries.
The team at Humanity Crew is working towards creating a world where mental health support is incorporated into all emergency protocols for victims of humanitarian crises. Humanity Crew provides community-based activities, group sessions, and individual sessions that are designed with the refugees’ cultural background in mind, and presented in their mother tongue.
During COVID-19, Humanity Crew has started to provide live sessions on their Facebook page. Their team of psychologists facilitate discussions to answer questions people may have surrounding the pandemic and its impact on their mental health.
Charlotte’s project with Humanity Crew was also featured in our print PWB Magazine, Issue #14.
Thank you Charlotte for continuing to tell stories that promote resilience and amplify voices of grassroots communities.
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