The Day May Break with Nick Brandt and Anne Kelly

© Nadezda Nikolova
Event Date: Thur, May 16, 2024 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM MST

Santa Fe Workshops collection of free online events, Creativity Continues, features a special evening with photographer Nick Brandt in conversation with photo-eye Gallery Director Anne Kelly. Their presentation centers around Nick’s ongoing thematic concerns of humans’ devastating impact on the health of the planet and now humans themselves.

The focus of this evening is on SINK / RISE, Nick’s most recent chapter of The Day May Break, an ongoing global series portraying people and animals that have been impacted by environmental degradation and destruction. The local people in these portraits, photographed underwater in the ocean off the coast of the Fijian islands, are representatives of the many people whose homes, land, and livelihoods will be lost in the coming decades as the water rises. Everything is photographed in-camera underwater. The program also covers the previous chapters of The Day May Break, photographed in Kenya and Zimbabwe in 2020, and in Bolivia in 2022.

Zoe Lescaze, in her foreword to SINK / RISE writes, “the photographs comprising SINK / RISE are remarkable in their ability to be simultaneously approachable and enigmatic, to be political and inclusive. They invite us to linger, to look harder, and to go deeper. With every return, there is something new to discover— within the images or within us. With the portraits in SINK / RISE, Brandt gives us a vital means of considering what we all stand to lose.”

Nick Brandt is a prolific artist and environmental champion. With his photography, he engages the audience with his landmark bodies of work on behalf of his subjects, both human and animals. He is known for his mission-driven, long-term “call for action” projects. Nick’s photographic journey began in Africa about two decades ago, with conservation as the goal from the beginning. His latest project, SINK / RISE, is the third chapter in his ongoing The Day May Break series which takes Nick and his audience beyond the borders of Africa to Bolivia, Fiji, and beyond.

Anne Kelly is the Director of photo-eye Gallery in Santa Fe, NM, and has been with the company since 2006, producing and installing over 80 exhibitions. Established in 1991, photo-eye Gallery is a premier contemporary photography gallery representing both established and emerging photographers. Her interest in photography developed at an early age, influenced by her mother’s love for the medium. In addition, Anne is a highly engaged portfolio reviewer for several arts groups and organizations across the country, both in-person and online, providing feedback, critique, and discourse. As an active supporter of the arts, she has been described as enthusiastic, tenacious, and curious and is an occasional contributor to Analog Forever Magazine.

Nick and Anne end this profound presentation with a Q & A session with the webinar audience. Even if you can’t make the live event, a recording of it will be available for all those registered.

Creativity Continues is a program that collectively develops creative voices by offering connection and encouraging expression. Because the goal is to engage all within our creative community, we encourage you to extend invitations and share Santa Fe Workshops Creativity Continues events with anyone who expresses an interest.

Event Recording


Many thanks to everyone who joined us live. View the recorded program below: