James Clifford Kent is a photographer and lectures on Latin American Studies & Visual Cultures in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Royal Holloway, University of London. 

His socially engaged practice and collaborative projects involve developing connections with people and communities.

Over the past two decades, James has regularly traveled to Cuba, capturing historic moments, including former Cuban leader Fidel Castro funeral in 2016. His award-winning work has featured in numerous publications, including investigative long-reads, journal articles and his book Aesthetics and the Revolutionary City: Real and Imagined Havana (2019).

James has exhibited work in the UK and Cuba, collaborating with world-leading image makers, cultural workers and writers, and delivered public talks and workshops at institutions such as the British Library, Fototeca de Cuba and The Photographers' Gallery.

Work from NHMN–documenting survival in crisis-hit Cuba–was selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the National Portrait Gallery’s Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2024. His long-form project exploring maternity experiences–supported by NHS England–was awarded The Lancet’s annual photography prize and selected for the British Journal of Photography's Portrait of Humanity & Portrait of Britain, featuring in The Times, The Independent and RPS Journal.

He received his PhD from the University of London in 2012 and was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2022. Funding for his projects has come from Arts Council England and the Arts & Humanities Research Council.

For more information, click here. 

Educational background 
BA London
MRes London
PhD London

Selected affiliations
Fellow, Royal Photographic Society (FRPS)
Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
Centre for Visual Cultures, Royal Holloway, University of London