Matilde Simas is an international award-winning photographer and visual storyteller based in Boston. Her work primarily focusses on human rights. Matilde leverages the power of visual storytelling to inform, provoke discussions, and inspire action. She achieves this by public speaking and exhibiting her work in galleries and public spaces.
Matilde's efforts have led to collaborations with many community-based organizations including Freedom for All, Voice of the Free Philippines, ChildVoice Uganda and HAART Kenya. Her work has appeared in the U.S. State Department TIP Report, Kenyan Directory of Service Providers for Trafficking Persons, the Guardian and others. Matilde's photography has been showcased internationally and widely exhibited by various UN agencies. In 2017, Matilde founded Capture Humanity, an organization founded on bringing awareness to human rights issues.
“State of the World” shortlist | LE PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DE PARIS (PX3) | Philippines: Children Living in Perpetual Invisibility, 2020
Bronze| PX3 PRIX de La Photographie Paris | The Truth about Albinism in Annual Report, 2020
Honorable Mention | PX3 PRIX de La Photographie Paris | Philippines: Children Living in Perpetual Invisibility in Press/FeaturePress/Feature Story, 2020
Honorable Mention | PX3 PRIX de La Photographie Paris | South Sudan’s Child Soldier in Portraiture/Other, 2020
Gold | Nature / Trees | Moscow International Foto Award | Dead Vlei Trees, 2020
Children's Portrait Winner l Black & White Magazine l Student in Medan, Indonesia: 2020
Honorable Mention | UNICEF Photo of the Year | Philippines: Girls as a Commodity: 2019
Silver | Social Cause | Lucie Foundation International Photography Award | Living with Albinism in Tanzania, 2019
“State of the World” Prize | LE PRIX DE LA PHOTOGRAPHIE DE PARIS (PX3) | Maasai Custom: FGM, 2019
Silver | Advertising / Annual Reports | PX3 PRIX de La Photographie Paris | Maasai Custom: FGM, 2019
INTERNATIONAL COLOR AWARDS | Wildlife, Male orangutan sits in a tree with soulful eyes, 2018
INTERNATIONAL COLOR AWARDS| People, Maasai Custom: FGM, 2018
GOLD | Social Cause | Lucie Foundation International Photography Award | Maasai Custom: FGM, 2018
Honorable Mention, Culture + Traditions | Lucie Foundation International Photography Award | Maasai Custom, 2018
Bronze | Book | Tokyo International Foto Awards | Faces Behind Atrocity, 2018
Bronze | People | Tokyo International Foto Awards| Growing up Female in Maasai Culture, 2018
Silver | Social Cause | Lucie Foundation International Photography Award| Faces Behind Atrocity, 2017
Honorable Mention | PX3 PRIX de La Photographie Paris| Faces Behind Atrocity, 2017
Portfolio Award | Black and White Magazine, 2017
Portfolio Award | Black and White Magazine, 2015.
FILM AWARDS
Best Short Documentary Docs Without Borders Film Festival, 2018
Outstanding Excellence in Social Issues Docs Without Borders Film Festival, 2018
Official Selection, DC Web Festival, 2018
Judge's Choice Award, Human Trafficking Film Festival, 2018
People's Choice Award, Human Trafficking Film Festival, 2018
Official Selection, Toronto Feedback Film Festival, 2018
COLLECTIONS
Atlas of Humanity | South Sudanese Refugees in Uganda
ARTWORS for Freedom | Faces Behind Atrocity, Washington, DC
Boston Children’s Hospital | International Gallery | Collection | Boston, MA
EXHIBITS
Atlas of Humanity | Galerie Joseph Le Marais Paris, May 2021
Represent Resilience: Learning from Yesterday, Building a Stronger Tomorrow gallery | Washington DC, 2020
Best of Show Exhibition |Moscow Photo Center | Moscow, Russia, 2020
TIFA Winners Exhibition | Shibuya Cultural Center, Owada Gallery | Tokyo, Japan, 2020
ForeMost l State of the World PX3 l Hotel Collective Naha l Okinawa, Japan, 16 - 30th January, 2020
Maine International Jetport Solo Exhibition | Portland, Maine 2019
State of the World PX3 | Leica | Taipei, Taiwan, 2019
Atlas of Humanity | Galerie Joseph Le Marais Paris, France, 2019
State of the World PX3 | Paris, July 9 -14th, 2019
Engine Gallery |Solo Exhibition |Biddeford, ME, December- January 2019
SDN Bronx Documentary Center | Group Exhibition | NYC, 2018
University of New Hampshire | Solo Exhibition | Durham, NH, 2018
Re:Artiste | Group exhibition | New York City, 2018
TIFA Winner Exhibition| ICA Gallery | Tokyo, Japan, 2018
Kenya National Archives at UNODC | Solo exhibition | Nairobi, Kenya, 2017
Kenya National Archives at IOM | Solo exhibition | Nairobi, Kenya, 2017
Art to End Slavery at KOBO Trust | Group exhibition | Nairobi, Kenya, 2017
Online and Print PUBLICATIONS
Hidden: Retratos de Escravatura dos tempos Modernos | Ana Marques Maia, P3 July 2020
How to tell Ethical and Empowering Stories | Darshel Diaz, PWB Magazine July 2020
A look through the lens of a humanitarian photographer | Jessica Barrett, World Footprints July 202
Matilde Simas is Called to Listen to Survivors | Amanda Arnold, PPA Magazine June 2020
COVID-19: The Story of Women Refugees in Uganda | Livanya Gramoney,
The American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association Almanac | Jan. 2020
Bringing Mobility to the Philippines | Jessica Barret, World Footprints Oct. 2019
Saving a Species: Palm Oil, Orangutans | Jessica Barrett, World Footprints July 2019
Bringing Atrocities out of the Shadows | Terry Date, The Eagle Tribune Jan. 3, 2019
Bringing Atrocities out of the Shadows | Terry Date, The ANDOVERS Magazine, Winter 2019
Roads to Recovery | Elena Stanciu, PETRIe Manifesto 2019
Shedding Light on Human Trafficking | Jeannie Pearson, PWB Magazine | Jan. 2019
Human Trafficking in Kenya: A nonprofit Takes Aim | Jessica Barrett, World Footprints October 17, 2018
Cover: Cape Cod Magazine Lighthouse Media Solutions, September 2018
Down on the Farm | Lisa Cavanaugh, Cape Cod Magazine, 2018
‘Spotlight: Matilde Simas’ | Chisty Au-Yeung, PWB Magazine | April 2018
‘UNMASKED’ | Amanda Arnold, Professional Photographer Magazine | September 2017
‘A Day in The Life of an Anti-Poaching Ranger’ | Amy Baird, The Guardian | July 2017