Andrew Quilty’s photography career began in Sydney, 2000, on the day his application to a university photo elective was rejected. He quit, and set off around Australia with a surfboard and a Nikon F3 that his uncle—also a photographer—had passed down.
Fate further intervened a week into the trip when his van was broken into. Everything but his well-hidden camera, and surfboard, which he was riding at the time, was stolen.
30,000KM later, he enrolled in the Sydney Institute of TAFE's Photography program, finishing at the top of his class in 2004.
He was given an informal internship at Fairfax Media which evolved into full-time employment. There, Quilty found himself surrounded by some of Australia's most outstanding photographers. They reshaped his worldview and set him on a course that continues to inspire his work today.
He left Fairfax in 2010 and freelanced from Sydney before relocating to New York City in 2012. But it was during a trip to Afghanistan and the Middle East, in 2013, that he first discovered bonafide purpose and fulfilment in his photography.
He has been based in Kabul, Afghanistan ever since.
His work in Afghanistan has been published worldwide and garnered several awards.
He has travelled to more than 20 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces and continues to document the country through pictures and, increasingly, the written word.
World Press Photo Involvement:
Award-winning photographer 2008 Photo Contest
Award-winning photographer 2019 Photo Contest
Andrew Quilty on Social Media:
Instagram: @andrewquilty
Twitter: @andrewquilty
