Sara Terry on Words, Photography & Motivation

Award-winning photographer Sara Terry thought she might become a lawyer when she was a student, and only found photography later in life. Here, she tells us about the process of discovering the power of visual storytelling.

Sara Terry is a documentary photographer and filmmaker known for her work covering post-conflict stories, and a 2012 Guggenheim Fellow for her long-term project, “Forgiveness and Conflict: Lessons from Africa.” Her first long-term post-conflict work, “Aftermath: Bosnia’s Long Road to Peace,” led her to found The Aftermath Project in 2003 on the premise that “War is Only Half the Story.” An accomplished speaker on aftermath and visual literacy issues, her lectures include a TedX talk, “Storytelling in a Post-Journalism Word,” and several appearances at The Annenberg Space for Photography. She has directed and produced two feature-length documentaries, Fambul Tok (2011) and FOLK (2013). Fambul Tok, about a groundbreaking grass-roots forgiveness program in Sierra Leone, premiered at SXSW in 2011, and grew out of her photo project, “Forgiveness and Conflict: Lessons from Africa.” It was supported by the Sundance Documentary Institute and Chicken and Egg, and was hailed by Paste magazine as one of the best 100 documentaries of all time. Terry became a photographer and filmmaker after a long, award-winning career in print and public radio. She is working on her third documentary, “A Decent Home,” about mobile home parks and the affordable housing crisis.