BACKGROUND
Charles Darr is a photographer and educator whose work explores the connections between art, science, and community, underpinned by themes of interrelatedness, agency, and authenticity.
Drawn to photography since childhood, he has maintained an immutable obsession with turning the world into pictures that reflect both its grit and its vulnerability. Growing up in Maryvale, an underserved immigrant neighborhood in West Phoenix, he discovered that while material opportunities were scarce, photography offered abundance. By framing life through a lens, he learned how photography enables meaning and sacredness to emerge from the quotidian, where, without a practice of seeing, it may go unrealized.
FOCUS
Rather than crafting staged perfection, Charles allows environments, relationships, and subtext to have a voice. His pictures defer to the influence of place, revealing how surroundings shape meaning. Wherever he works, Charles brings an attentiveness to the local, with a practice of paying close attention to people, landscapes, and moments as they are lived. Across his practice, he is guided by the belief that photography is a way to see and feel the world more clearly, fostering mindfulness by augmenting our awareness.
PHILOSOPHY
Charles believes that photography provides an opportunity for the transmission of understanding from the metaphysical to the physical world. As he explains, “We point cameras into the world like antennae, trying to catch signals of meaning the way a metal rod draws lightning. To photograph is to experiment with existence itself, to explore how we engage with being alive. If we pay close enough attention, we might develop a deeper connection to our own existence and a greater sense of agency in how we live.”
This philosophy is grounded in Charles’s practice. He holds a master’s degree in Sustainability Solutions and brings nearly a decade of experience with mission-driven organizations, serving roles from grant writer to executive director. He uses his photography, video, and writing skills to build strategic outreach such as websites, press kits, proposals, and campaigns in service of advancing social well-being and environmental stewardship. Whether documenting artists in their studios, landscapes in flux, or community support efforts, Charles approaches photography as both experiment and offering: a way to witness, connect, and ultimately, to affirm life.
SELECT CLIENTS
SELECT CLIENTS
CURRICULUM VITEA
Selected Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
2014 Charles Darr Portraiture—Lost Leaf Gallery
2013 Technological Isolation—Cartel with David Blakeman
2010 Amnesia—Vanity Gallery with Andrew Hammerand
Selected Juried Exhibitions
2024 Light of Day, Juried by Laura Spalding Best—Shemer Art Center
2016 INFOCUS Juried Exhibition of Self-Published Photobooks—Phoenix Art Museum
2011 Epeolatry, Juried by Bucky Miller—Step Gallery
2010 Elsewhere, Juried by Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison—Northlight Gallery
2009 An Equation of the Fanciful and Bizarre, Juried by Joel Meyerowitz—Northlight Gallery
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 Monsoon Show—Brill Gallery
2012 Art Detour—First Studio
2011 Peace Makers—Pravus Gallery
2010 Suggestion—Lost Leaf Gallery
Dilemma—Gallery 100
Beer as Art—THINK! Gallery
2009 PHXAM—The Compound
DECK III—Pravus Gallery
Group show—Rdist
Group show—Alwun House
Photography exhibition—Green
Education
2020 Master of Sustainability Solutions—Arizona State University
2010 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography—Arizona State University
2007 Associate of Arts—Scottsdale Community College
Selected Professional Photography and Videography Experience
2025 Faculty Associate in Art—Arizona State University
2024 3D LiDAR scans and photography for DESERT PULSE—ScanLAB Projects +
Desert Botanical Garden
Program photography—Skate After School
Promotional video—VetCORE Nonprofit
2023 Program photography—Foster Alliance
2022 Promotional video—Suns Legacy Partners
2021 Cinematographer—Current Revolution: Nation in Transition
Editor, program video for U.S.Vets—Inquire Films
Promotional video and program photography—Thrive Consultancy
2020 Program videos—ASU President’s Office
Climate Action Plan photography—City of Tempe
Program video—Arizona Sustainability Alliance
2016 Grip—The Encounter, TV Series
2013 Portraiture photography for Kehinde Wiley Opening—Phoenix Art Museum
2010 Intern—Jesse Rieser Photography
Selected Sustainability Projects
2023 Development of S.K.A.T.E. & Create alternative learning program—Cowtown S.K.A.T.E. Nonprofit
2021 Cinematographer, Nation in Transition documentary—American Resilience Project
2020 Sustainable purchasing policy framework research—City of Tempe
2019 Zero waste analysis—Oakland Athletics
Equitable transit access analysis—City University Hong Kong
Green infrastructure analysis—Arizona State University
2018 Save Water, Drink Beer documentary—Sinagua Malt
Publications and Press
2022 Grab Your Boards, It’s Time to Skate for the Kids—Arcadia News
2017 Charles Darr: Seeing Artists in Their Environments—Java Magazine
2016 Stars to Satellites—Self-published
2012 100 Creatives—Phoenix New Times
2011 Imagine PHX—Phoenix New Times
2010 No Fixed Plan—Self-published
Artist Talks
2017 Remote Artist Lecture—University of New Mexico
2010 Visiting Artist Lecture—Prescott College