Thomas Kelly was born in Santa Fe and educated at Loyola University of Chicago and in Rome. He first traveled to Nepal in 1978 as a Peace Corps volunteer. Since then, he has worked as a photo-activist, documenting disappearing cultural traditions and the struggles of marginalized people worldwide. His home is in Kathmandu. Since the early 1990s, he has been recording the lives of
sex workers and traditions surrounding prostitution across South Asia. Thomas has worked extensively for UNICEF and Save the Children Fund (USA) on the subjects of child prostitution and trafficking, among others. His work has appeared in several international publications, including the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, Smithsonian, Archeology, U.K., The Observer, Le Figaro and Stern. He was awarded the Best Travel Photograph by Conde Nast and Photographer of the Year by Hinduism Today. He has received several grants, including one from the Gates Foundation and the Threshold Grant. With these grants, Kelly has used the camera as a tool to comment on social policy. He has also worked on social issues relating to gender empowerment and
HIV/AIDS . In addition, Kelly has taught community workshops fostering youth empowerment. In the workshops, he encourages young people to tell their own visual songs, using their own voices.
Apart from photography, Kelly has produced and directed films and videos for Discovery Communications, USA, National Geographic and the BBC. These films and videos address a number of issues, including prostitution, violence against women and esoteric ethnic practices. He is currently the AV Technical Advisor for The Youth Expression Project (YEP). YEP is a program which helps young people identify and voice their concerns about parental, sexual, and societal issues through written, photographic and video mediums. Their media outputs will be directed to parents, teachers and the general public through A YEP traveling exhibit.
E-mail address:
tkelly@photo.wlink.com.npTele# 977-9851026738, 977-01-4438883,
P.O.Box 1406
Kathmandu, Nepal
Thomas L. Kelly
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