ABOUT
JOHANNAH CHURCHILL
PHOTOGRAPHER
b. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Johannah Churchill is a photographer in the Northeast. She trained and worked as an NHS nurse before moving into photography, and that shift was not a departure but a continuity. The same instincts that shaped her nursing practice, attention, proximity, trust, are what define her photographic work. Her images are built on access that takes time to earn, and a genuine understanding of care, labour, and what people carry with them.
Her work moves between portraiture, documentary, and participatory practice, with a consistent focus on people, belonging, and the realities of everyday life. Her image Melanie, March 2020, made at the opening of a Covid-19 clinic, was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery and featured on the cover of the Hold Still book. Her work is also held in the Wellcome Collection and Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art. She leads NHS Darkroom, an ongoing participatory research project with Newcastle Hospitals, and carried out commissioned work for organisations including the Gaia Foundation, NEPN, SEPN and the Telegraph.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS, COMMISSIONS & BOOKS/PAPERS
2026 | The Weight of Being, 2 Temple Place, London, Group Show
2026 | Our Freedom Then and Now, London Southbank Centre + 19 Locations (Touring Show)
2026 | Unearthed & Constellations: FORMAT
2025 | Gaia Foundation: We Feed the UK, Papadakis Books, Chapter
2025 | NHS Darkroom: Come as You Really Are, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art
2025 | Melanie March 2020, Abeni 2025, Aaron 2025: Solo Show, Future Care, University of Sunderland
2025 | Royal Photographic Society We Feed the UK Group Exhibition
2025 | NHS Darkroom, Crawford House, Newcastle NHS, Outdoor Exhibition, Group Show
2024 | The Sill, Northumberland: Solo Show 'Down to Earth' & 'Constellations', Gaia Foundation (commission).
2024 | Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art, 'Time is Elastic' group exhibit 'The Skin We Live In.'
2024 | Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art, 'Ellie 2021' + Vinyl Glass Centre frontage
2024 | Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool Stuart Johnson
2024 | NHS Darkroom, RVI Newcastle, Group Show
2024 | NHS Darkroom, Freeman Hospital Newcastle, Group Show
2023 | Hold Still, A Portrait of Our Nation, Group exhibition, National Portrait Gallery
2023 | Karen & Paul Hutton, Commission, Newcastle Hospitals Charity
2023 | Billboard Exhibition, Team Nature, Gaia Foundation, We Feed the UK
2023 | Sunderland Museum, 'Lucy, 2021' joint exhibition new works
2023 | 'People Not Profit' - POPRecs, Solo protest/community exhibition showcasing selected works from Watchful Waiting, NHS Darkroom, 'Pandemic' series and documentary images of Nurse NHS Strike.
2022 | NHS Portraits 'Watchful Waiting' Solo Show/Aquisition, Freeman Hospital
2021 | Format Festival Mass Isolation Project
2021 | 'Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation' National Portrait Gallery, Book: Page, Chapter & Cover
2020 | Melanie March 2020, Mural, Manchester Northern Quarter
2020 | Melanie March 2020 'Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation', National Portrait Gallery, Multiple Exhibitions
2020 | Melanie March 2020, Telegraph Commission
AWARDS & ACQUISITIONS
2024 | Yann 2023, NHS Darkroom, Portrait of Britain Vol 7
2023 | National Portrait Gallery, Acquisition Melanie March 2020
2022 | Lucy 2021, Sunderland Museum, acquisition (exhibited 2023 - 2025)
2022 | Watchful Waiting, Newcastle NHS Charity x4 Portraits (aquisition/loan contract)
2022 | Alaides, Wellcome Collection, Acquisition
2022 | Wellcome Photo Prize, Judging Panel
2021 | Melanie March 2020 "Hold Still", National Portrait Gallery, Multiple Exhibitions
2021 | Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, Shortlist
2021 | Charlie After Nights, Portrait of Humanity Vol 4, British Journal of Photography
TALKS/WORKSHOPS
2025 | Talk Gaia Foundation, We Feed the UK, Royal Photographic Society Bristol
2025 | Newcastle NHS Charity Talk
2025 | Newcastle NHS Charity Workshop
2024 | ITV News, Interview
2024 | Hexham Photography Group Talk
2024 | Hexham Photography Society Talk
2024 | Newcastle NHS Charity Talk
2024 | Newcastle NHS Charity Workshop
2024 | Northern School of Art Talk
2023 | Newcastle NHS Charity Talk
2023 | Newcastle NHS Charity Workshop