Sara Terry was beloved throughout the documentary photography and film communities for her sharp sense of visual literacy, and for her generosity, kindness, and humor. In this exhibit The Aftermath Project, which she founded, and Photoville, where she frequently exhibited, celebrate her lasting legacy and vision.
Sara had been an acclaimed journalist for more than a decade when, in the mid-’90s, she traded the language of words for the poetry of photography. She quickly developed a signature photographic voice employing reflections, shadows, and fragmented forms to probe the nature of things that had broken—from personal relationships to whole societies—and how they might be repaired.
In an early project in post-war Bosnia and Hercegovina, Sara found humanity in a forensic anthropology team’s efforts to identify the dead. In an exploration of forgiveness traditions in post-conflict African countries, she identified a “great and unquenchable conviction that we are defined by the relationships we have with others, that we live in community, and more important, that we need that community if we are to survive.”
Later, Sara began to reincorporate text into her work, annotating images with interviews of the people featured within, and finally, in her series (Re)Thinking the Male Gaze, with her own responses to classic paintings.
Artist Bios
-
Sara Terry
Sara Terry (1955-2025) was a documentary photographer, filmmaker, and educator whose work focuses on how we define our humanity, and the role of community in creating that definition. She was a Guggenheim Fellow in Photography, a Sundance Documentary Fellow, and a contributing photographer to VII Foundation, publishing two books of photography and directing three feature-length documentary films. In 2024, she was named to Forbes Women’s 50 Over 50 list. A former reporter for The Christian Science Monitor and freelance magazine writer, Sara picked up a still camera in the late 1990s at a time when she lost her faith in words and never looked back.
Sara was an uncommonly generous teacher, mentor, and supporter of other photographers. While working on Aftermath: Bosnia’s Long Road to Peace, a project about the period following the 1992-95 war in Bosnia and Hercegovina, Sara came to believe that “war is only half the story.” She founded a nonprofit, The Aftermath Project, to help photographers tell the stories that follow conflict—of what it takes to rebuild lives and homes, to restore civil societies, to address the lingering wounds of war, and create new avenues for peace. Since 2007, The Aftermath Project has given more than $750,000 in grants to photographers.
Organizations
-
The Aftermath Project
“War is only half the story.”
The Aftermath Project is a grant-making, educational non-profit that supports photographers committed to telling the other half of the story of conflict. We believe that the stories of what it takes for individuals to learn to live again—to rebuild lives and homes, to restore civil societies, to address the lingering wounds of war while struggling to create new avenues for peace—are as important as the story of conflict itself, if not more so. We offer a yearly grant to photographers worldwide covering the aftermaths of conflict. We also work with universities, photographic institutions, and non-profit organizations to enhance the public’s understanding of the true cost of war—and the real price of peace.
The Aftermath Project is an outcome of founder Sara Terry’s five-year-long project documenting the consequences of the 1992–95 war in Bosnia and Hercegovina. She completed her work in 2005, convinced that a broader public understanding and discussion of aftermath issues was crucial in a world where the media regularly covers war, but rarely covers the stories that follow the violence and destruction. Sara started The Aftermath Project as a way to help photographers tell these stories.
In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, The Aftermath Project created the 1492/1619: American Aftermaths grant, offered from 2021-2025, to support photographers engaging with the lasting aftermaths of colonialism and enslavement in the United States.
-
Photoville
Founded in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, Photoville was built on the principles of addressing cultural equity and inclusion, which we are always striving for, by ensuring that the artists we exhibit are diverse in gender, class, and race.
In pursuit of its mission, Photoville produces an annual, city-wide open air photography festival in New York City, a wide range of free educational community initiatives, and a nationwide program of public art exhibitions.
By activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers, and creating unique and highly innovative exhibition and programming environments, we join the cause of nurturing a new lens of representation.
Through creative partnerships with festivals, city agencies, and other nonprofit organizations, Photoville offers visual storytellers, educators, and students financial support, mentorship, and promotional & production resources, on a range of exhibition opportunities.
For more information about Photoville visit, www.photoville.com
A Photographic Legacy: The Voice and Vision of Sara Terry
Featuring: Sara Terry
Curated by: Andrew Cullen Allison Terry
Supported by:
Locations
ON VIEW AT: #9
View Location Details Download a detailed map of this location Brooklyn Bridge Park – Emily Warren Roebling Plaza
1 Water St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
This location is part of Brooklyn Bridge Park
Explore other locations and exhibitions nearby
The views and opinions expressed in this exhibit are those of the exhibition artists and partners and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Photoville or any other participants and partners of the Photoville Festival.
This website was made possible thanks to the generous support and partnership of 