Savannah Dodd

Savannah Dodd

Born 21 July 1991(St. Louis, USA)
Website savannahdodd.com

Savannah Dodd is a photographer and anthropologist. Originally from St. Louis, USA, she now lives outside the coastal village of Portaferry on the Ards Peninsula.

Her photography is heavily influenced by her academic background, and she combines the disciplines of anthropology and photography within her artistic practice. Her images focus on people and material culture. Ethics is integral to the way that she works. She places great importance on process, modes of access, and engagement with the people and places she photographs. In 2017, Savannah founded the Photography Ethics Centre where she teaches the ethics of taking and sharing visual media to a wide range of audiences.

Savannah has photographed for a variety of clients, including for international development NGOs, arts festivals, architects, and universities. Her photographs have appeared in local newspapers and in global journals, including The Lancet. Her personal projects centre on themes of health, family, and identity. She is currently focused on the further development and dissemination of her photobook Thanks, Gd. She also working on expanding her practice in analogue photographic methods and in photographic collage.¹

Bio & Career

Savannah is pursuing her PhD in anthropology at Queen’s University Belfast. She received her M.A. in anthropology and sociology from the Graduate Institute of International Development Studies in Geneva (2015) and her B.A. in anthropology and religious studies at Washington University in St. Louis (2012). Her work in anthropology explores the nexus between religion, politics, identity, and conflict, especially as it relates to visual culture.

Savannah is a member of the Ethical Journalism Network’s UK Committee, of Las Fotos Project’s The Foto Awards Host Committee, and of the board of Source Magazine. She sits on the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Rural Deliberative Forum.²⁴⁵

Publications

Appears in

Year, Title, City: Publisher (Listed chronologically)
2020, Thanks, Gd. Dummy Edition. ⁸
2019, “Music, memory, and the self in dementia,” The Lancet, Volume 394, Issue 10216 ⁹
2018 “Mosquito Net Inspection in Kabira, Uganda” in The Lancet, Volume 392, Issue 10165 ¹⁰
2017, “Dandelions,” Freckle, Issue 5
2016, “Four Photographs: Belfast,” The Tangerine, Issue 1

Awards and honours

2020, Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists, International Women’s Media Foundation, Washington D.C.
2019, Education and Training Bursary, Rebecca Vassie Trust, London
2018, Education and Training Bursary, Rebecca Vassie Trust, London
2016 Long listed for the Memorial Award, Rebecca Vassie Trust, London
2013, Honourable Mention, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis, USA

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

2018, Kabira Village, Stormont Parliament Building, Belfast, Northern Ireland
2016, Election Day, The John Hewitt, Belfast, Northern Ireland
2016, Sacred Spaces, Focus Gallery, Chiang Mai, Thailand
2011, La vie Parisienne, Café Ventana, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Group exhibitions

2018, An Untold Story, Dylan Banks, The Hallows Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland
2016, Streetscapes, 1650 Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
2016, Humankind, Eric Wieringa, Foundry Arts Centre, St. Charles, USA
2015, Context, Buzz Spector, Foundry Arts Centre, St. Charles, USA
2014, Photography V, Tony Schanuel, Foundry Arts Centre, St. Charles, USA
2014, Instagram Photography Exhibition, 1650 Gallery – Los Angeles, USA
2013, Photo Op, Daniel Farnum, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, St. Louis, USA

Projects

Thanks, Gd (2018-2021)

Thanks, Gd documents the experience of Savannah Dodd’s Granddad during the later stages of dementia. This project combines archival and contemporary photographs with excerpts from handwritten notes he made over 8 years during his memory decline. This project was produced as a photobook with design support from Read That Image. The photobook dummy was then piloted as a tool in nursing education through a research study in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast. Results from the study are forthcoming.