Karen Knorr (USA/UK) was born in Germany and grew up in San Juan Puerto Rico in the 1960’s. She is Emerita  of Photography at the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey, UK. Her studio is based in London. She is on the steering committee of Fast Forward Women in Photography at University for the Creative Arts, Farnham, Surrey, UK.

Karen Knorr’s photography explores cultural heritage and its ideological underpinnings. Questions concerning post colonialism and its relationship to aesthetics have permeated her photographic work since the 1980’s. Her acclaimed work India Song researched the stories and myths of India, photographing animals and placing them in temples and palaces across heritage sites in India. Karen Knorr won the V International Photography Pilar Citoler Prize in 2010. She has been nominated for the Deutsche Börse in 2011 and 2012 and Prix Pictet in 2012 and 2018. Karen Knorr’s work is included in collections worldwide including The National Gallery, Washington DC USA  Moma (San Francisco), The Museum of Fine Art (Houston), Museum of Art and Photography (Bangalore), Tate Museum (London) and Pompidou Museum (Paris).

Karen Knorr is an advocate for diversity and inclusivity in photography. She is honorary chairwoman for Women in Photography at the Royal Photographic Society and on the steering committee of Fast Forward Women in Photography  and a friend of AWARE, the online women’s artist index.