Janneth Gil is a Colombian-born New Zealander photographer and Engineer who recently finished a Master of Fine Arts, majoring in photography, at the University of Canterbury. Gil uses a broad range of artistic processes as a tool for social change and wellbeing, including photography, collaborative practices, and community engagement. She also works with multiple artists and various galleries in Ōtautahi documenting art and exhibitions. Besides her artistic pursuits, she is a member of the Multicultural Advisory Group from the Christchurch City Council, a co-founder of Pemphigus New Zealand and an advocate for people with rare disorders in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Gil’s aim is to encourage the community towards considering dialogue, tolerance, and inclusivity in the face of adversity and hardship. She believes in helping others with her skills and her photography as a tool for social change, and as a mechanism through which to empower, teach, and help people to better understand others. Her social photography-based projects include Our Voices (www.ourvoices.co.nz) depicting the life stories of a group of people living with disability in Ōtautahi/Christchurch and Void. Void is largely drawn from Janneth’s autobiographical narratives exploring themes and ideas about identity construction and trans-culturalism in the context of immigration.

The Darkness into Light Project is a major body of work in which Janneth sought to find ways to sustain the support shown towards the people affected by the tragic events of March 15th, 2019. She aimed to maintain positive dialogue within our public consciousness, and to challenge certain negative perspectives that inevitably linger. Under the umbrella of Darkness into Light Project she has created Finding peace – Raising Sakinah, where survivors from the March 15th attacks were invited to participate in a series of free workshops providing creative tools to help them through their grief and healing, taking into account their individual spiritual and cultural needs. In the aftermath of the mosque shootings, survivors and supporters joined Janneth Gil and collaborators to transform tragedy through creative community.

Gil’s work is held in the collections of the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, Canterbury Museum and The Christchurch City Libraries Ngā Kete Wānanga o Ōtautahi. Her artwork has also been displayed at In Situ Photo Project, PhotoForum NZ, Place in Time, and various other galleries. Additionally, it has been published on TV, newspapers, and magazines in New Zealand and around the world.

Awards and Nominations