“ Documentation is sacred. I am a woman with a camera.
I choose where I walk. I pick who I walk with.
I am the maker of my photographs. This is my credo.”
I choose where I walk. I pick who I walk with.
I am the maker of my photographs. This is my credo.”
Donna Ferrato, born 1949, Waltham, MA
(Two By Two Client #8, 2023)
INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE
Donna Ferrato: Bearing Witness
Donna Ferrato is a celebrated documentary photographer and activist known for her fearless work confronting domestic violence and championing human rights. Her life’s mission began in the 1980s when, during an assignment, she witnessed a man violently assault his partner. In that moment, she raised her camera—not only to capture the truth, but to stop the violence. That photograph launched a decades-long commitment to expose the hidden abuse behind closed doors.
Her landmark book, Living With the Enemy (Aperture), ignited international awareness and outrage, breaking taboos around domestic abuse and giving voice to survivors. Her more recent work, Holy (powerHouse Books, 2020), honors individuals who fight for dignity, freedom, and equality in the face of injustice.
In 2021, Ferrato received a grant from the NYC Mayor’s Office to End Gender-Based Violence to create art addressing the criminalization of survivors. The result, The Wall of Silence, stood in the shadow of New York’s highest courts—an immersive public installation that became both protest and sanctuary. It resonated deeply during the 2023 self-defense trial of Tracy McCarter, contributing to a broader movement for justice.
Ferrato’s work has earned numerous prestigious accolades, including the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography, the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Outstanding Coverage of the Disadvantaged, the Courage in Journalism Award from the IWMF, and the Missouri Medal of Honor for Distinguished Service in Journalism. In 2008, New York City declared October 30th “Donna Ferrato Appreciation Day,” and in 2025, she received an honorary doctorate from John
Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Her photographs are held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, and the International Center of Photography, among others. Her work also resides in private collections, including those of Celso Gonzalez- Falla, the Marrus Family Fund, and the Russ Family Fund.
Living With The Enemy
Until I saw a man hit his wife I had been trying to show the beauty of people in love. Shocked that love could go so wrong, I became obsessed with documenting domestic violence. Driven to try to do something about it, I found that a camera was my best weapon.
Working Girls
Sex work is real work.
Holy
My mission is to cut through the noise and listen to all women—believers, non-believers, young, old, cis, trans, living, dead.
To follow the flickering of unleashed, bright spirits. That’s what pulls me, like a moth to a flame.
