Biography

Biography
Shira Gold is a fine art photographer who creates images of stillness and beauty from complicated and painful moments. “My art is alert to the discomfort we all face in our daily lives,” she explains, “but I want to turn pain and angst on its side to discover the beauty that accompanies our struggles.” Drawing on her relationships as a daughter and a mother, Shira’s work explores the universal subjects of grief, change, discovery, and wonder.
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Shira has spent most of her life immersed in fine arts. However, when her mother became seriously ill, she left her style and textile career to become her primary caregiver. Driven by the desire to help others struggling with illness, Shira drew on her experiences shared with her mother and wrote Choosing Joy’s Empowerment Index. – a workbook to help navigate chronic illness through self-advocacy and mind/body work and positivity.
When she lost her mother, Shira recognized the need to reclaim her visual voice. It was several years later that she returned to her camera soon after becoming a parent. The series “Reflect, Transform, Become” documents the transformative, complex experience of being a motherless mother, and earned her an Honorable Mention in the 2016 International Photography Awards. The years following have brought about large bodies of work steeped in personal visual narratives and observations.
Shira’s work has earned her recognition in the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, The Pollux Awards, Fine Art Photo Awards, Lensculture Art Photography Awards, International Photography Awards and Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series amongst others.
Shira’s work has been featured in International publications, exhibited publicly as a part of Photoville’s The Fence at the 2020 Exposure Photo Festival and in several brick and mortar galleries in Europe and North America.