PATRICIA FORTLAGE

ARTIST BIO

Patricia Fortlage is an award-winning photographic storyteller and fine art photographer. From her core belief that if you invest in women and girls, entire communities will be raised, Patricia has focused much of her career doing just that. From her powerful piece covering the female-led Othakarhaka Foundation in Southern Malawi to the stereotype-breaking, female-empowering Wonder Girl! Project, to a project on the often life-long after-effects of sexual assault on women, Patricia has promoted female empowerment one project at a time. She has documented conditions and shared stories of struggle and success, helped to promote tourism in the poorest of nations, and, overall, devoted her artistic work to furthering community development. Patricia’s hope is for the viewer to have an immediate emotional reaction to her work, as opposed to an intellectual reaction, one that will move the viewer and inspire them in how they themselves move in the world. She hopes to sometimes educate and inspire with her work, sometimes shock and surprise. At its most poignant, she strives to inspire positive change. Her work has been published nationally, and she has been widely exhibited in solo and juried exhibits across the US.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My name is Patricia Fortlage, and I am a documentary and fine art photographer. My goal is to create work that moves people, work that inspires change, especially for women. Studies have shown that if you invest in women, entire communities will be raised. I seek to do just that. For the past 17 years, I have partnered with programs in developing countries to document their work, the issues they face, and how they are addressing those issues. Alongside this, I have also created bodies of work here in the US to advocate for women. Even now, with a progressive diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis and the physical limitations that that entails, I continue to create work to improve the lives of my sisters everywhere. Even my fine artwork seeks to tell a story and inspire change. My latest project is a series sharing my own journey with chronic illness. It is titled "Lemonade," and it is a project I have wanted to do for a very long time. I would like it to serve as a love letter to the chronic illness community… especially the women who are most gaslighted by medical professionals and others in our communities at large. This is a photographic fine art series with careful attention to raising women up in the process.