Saskia Keeley uses participatory photography to support healing and dignity

Photojournalist and workshop facilitator Saskia Keeley is using participatory photography in New York and abroad to help marginalized communities process lived experience, reclaim voice, and build connection. Her work spans correctional facilities, humanitarian initiatives, and workshops in places like Nairobi’s Kibera settlement.

Why it matters: - Saskia Keeley’s work uses photography as a tool for healing, agency, and social connection. - Her workshops are designed to help participants tell their own stories rather than be defined by outsiders. - The approach has relevance for trauma-informed practice, restorative justice, and community-based storytelling.

What happened: - Saskia Keeley, based in New York, is being profiled by Influential Women for her work as an award-winning photojournalist, documentary photographer, and workshop facilitator. - Keeley serves as Accompagnateur and Documentarian at Saskia Keeley Photography. - She has spent more than a decade documenting humanitarian initiatives and marginalized communities while building participatory photography programs. - In March 2026, Keeley led a workshop in the Kibera settlement in Nairobi, Kenya, with young single mothers.

The details: - Keeley’s Accompagnateur Workshops use participatory photography to help people process lived experiences, build confidence, and imagine new possibilities. - Her programs have brought together Israeli and Palestinian women. - She has also supported incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people through reentry initiatives. - Keeley’s practice blends artistic work with peacebuilding and restorative justice principles. - She collaborates with organizations focused on community development, health, education, and peacebuilding. - Her background includes humanitarian photography, counseling, and transformational leadership. - Keeley holds a Master of Arts in Transformational Leadership from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. - She is certified as an Interspiritual Counselor through One Spirit Alliance. - Keeley speaks English, French, Dutch, German, and Spanish. - Participatory photography lets participants take the camera themselves and shape how their lives and communities are represented. - The article links the method to trauma-informed practice as a way to support healing and agency. - In her workshops, participants make portraits of one another from the first session. - Keeley also volunteers with Roots Judur/Shorashim, Uweza, Reinserta, The END Fund, and We Love Reading.

Between the lines: - Keeley’s approach is built on empathy, deep listening, and mutual respect rather than instruction or advice. - Her counseling training reinforced the value of listening, holding space, and walking alongside another person at their pace. - She says the word “accompagnateur” captures that role of accompanying others rather than directing them. - The profile frames vulnerability and authenticity as strengths in facilitation, especially with people who may not trust institutions or outsiders. - Keeley says interest in trauma-informed arts practice is growing, but funding remains the biggest barrier to expanding her workshops. - She says many host organizations operate with limited budgets and depend on support from her network of friends and colleagues. - The article argues that photography can help people see themselves in full humanity, not only through the worst thing they have done.

What’s next: - Keeley wants to expand her programs, bring in additional professionals, and build a more sustainable model if funding increases. - She expects demand for her workshops to keep growing as more organizations look for arts-based healing tools. - Her work is likely to continue spanning correctional settings, community programs, and international partnerships.

The bottom line: - Saskia Keeley is using participatory photography to turn image-making into a practice of dignity, dialogue, and transformation.