Olga Saavendra

Olga Saavendra is an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Fine Art Photography at the University of the Arts London (Camberwell College of Arts). She holds a PhD in Creative and Critical Practice from the University of Sussex and an MA in Photography and Urban Culture from Goldsmiths University. As a visual artist and researcher, her practice intersects photography, oral history, anthropology, queer studies, family relationships, and memory studies.

• PhD: Creative and Critical Practice, University of Sussex
• MA: Photography and Urban Culture, Goldsmiths University

Her research explores transnational narratives through visual and oral methodologies, with projects such as the Wivenhoe Artists Oral History Project (2019–2023) documenting 20th-century artists. She has contributed to publications like the Oral History Journal (Cuba-focused issue) and the Leverhulme Trust Newsletter, and her work has been featured on book covers for Oxford University Press and University of Chicago Press.

Current affiliations include visiting Fellow status at the Institute of Latin American Studies (School of Advanced Studies, University of London) and teaching roles at the University of Sussex's Department of Media and Humanities.