Kiliii Yuyan Photographer

ABOUT BLOG TEARSHEETS CONTACT ACQUIRE PRINTS FEATURED/People of the Whale MOTION/Prayer for the Whale MOTION/Teshekpuk Lake MOTION/Arctic Autumn EDITORIAL/Gates of the Arctic EDITORIAL/Arctic Flyway EDITORIAL/Women of the Iditarod EDITORIAL/Masks of Grief and Joy EDITORIAL/Rare Earth Greenland EDITORIAL/Living Wild EDITORIAL/Navajo Nation EDITORIAL/Rewilding Patagonia EDITORIAL/Lugu Lake EDITORIAL/Greenland Renewed EDITORIAL/The Arctic Refuge EDITORIAL/Standing Rock EDITORIAL/The Arctic Falcon FINE ART/Chukotka FINE ART/Islandia EDITORIAL/California Indigenous Fire FEATURED/Rumors of Arctic Belonging FINE ART/Tundra FINE ART/Cnidarians PUBLIC SPEAKING/NatGeo Season of the Whale PUBLIC SPEAKING/George Eastman Museum PUBLIC SPEAKING/NatGeo Kiliii & Jen Samuel

ABOUT

Photographer Kiliii Yuyan shines a light on Indigenous communities, wildlands, and the Arctic. Informed by ancestry that is both Nanai/Hèzhé (Siberian Native) and Chinese-American, he explores the human relationship to the natural world from different cultural perspectives. Kiliii is an award-winning contributor to National Geographic Magazine and other major publications.

Both wilderness survival skills and empathy have been critical for Kiliii’s projects in extreme environments and cultures outside his own. On assignment, he has fled collapsing sea ice, weathered botulism from fermented whale blood, and found kinship at the edges of the world. In addition, Kiliii builds traditional kayaks and contributes to the revitalization of northern Indigenous culture.

Kiliii is a 2020 NiaTero Storytelling fellow, one of PDN's 30 Photographers (2019), a member of Natives Photograph and Diversify Photo. His work has been exhibited worldwide and received some of photography's top honors. Kiliii's public talks inspire others about photography, Indigenous perspectives and wilderness around the globe. Kiliii is based out of Seattle, but can be found across the circumpolar Arctic much of the year.

Selected Press

Humble Arts. Finding Homeland Through Ice and Snow By Quinn Russell Brown.
FotoNostrum Magazine. Hidden Stories of Polar Regions. By Maureen Mathiot.
Strange Fire. Interview. By Hamidah Glasgow.
Lenscratch. Searching for Home. By Aline Smithson
Communication Arts. Feature: Kiliii Yuyan. By Dzana Tsomondo.
The Photographic Journal. Interview. By Lou Noble.
Lens Culture. Unbroken Lineage: The Keeper of Knowledge. By Gina Williams.
World Photo Organization. Remarkable images from the wild edges of our world. By Matthew Oxley.

Speaking Engagements

2020, Keynote: Unexpected Arctic, Earthjustice Virtual Journey
2020, The Camera is My Voice, National Museum of Ras Al Kaimah, UAE
2019, A Conversation with NatGeo’s Kiliii Yuyan and Jen Samuel, Fort Collins, CO
2019, Season of the Whale, National Geographic Photography Seminar, Washington D.C.
2019, Design Perspectives from Indigenous Culture, AirBnB: Into Thin Air, Seattle, WA
2018, On the Sea Ice, We Wear White, George Eastman Museum, Rochester, NY
2015 Living Wild 2015, DPReview PIX, McCall Hall, Seattle, WA

Awards & Honors

Society of Publication Designers, 2020, Digital Feature Photography, Gold
International Photography Awards One Shot, 2020, HM
Nia Tero Storytelling Fellow, 2020
US Embassy Visiting Artist, UAE: RAK Fine Arts, 2020
International Photography Awards, 2019, First Place, Press/Feature Story
PDN Photo Annual, 2019, Feature Story & Personal Work
PDN’s 30 New and Emerging Photographers, 2019
PCNW 22nd Juried Exhibition, 2019, First Place
Best of ASMP, 2018, Series, First Place
Eddie Adams XXXI, 2018
Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, 2018, Feature Story, Bronze
PDN World in Focus, 2017, Photo Essay, 1st Place
Px3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, 2017, Press, Gold
Critical Mass, 2017, Top 50
PDN Photo Annual, 2017, Personal Work
International Photography Awards, 2017, Deeper Perspective, Silver
Communication Arts Annual, 2017, Multimedia
Sienna International Photo Awards, 2017, Editorial, HM
Sony World Photo Awards, 2016, Shortlist, Still Life
PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, 2015, Press, HM
International Photography Awards, 2015, Feature Story, Portrait, HM
Communication Arts Annual, 2015, Stock

Selected Exhibitions

2020, Rumors of Arctic Belonging, Blue Sky Gallery, Portland, OR
2020, The Living Arctic: PDN’s 30, Photoville, New York, NY
2020, Lenscratch, Spirit: Indigenous Art, Artists and Issues, Atlanta, GA
2020, In/side Out, National Cheng Kung Art Center, Taipei, Taiwan
2020, Connected Communities, National Museum of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE
2019, People of the Whale, Center for Fine Art Photography, Museum of Art Fort Collins, CO
2019, PCNW 22nd Juried Exhibition, Photographic Center NW, Seattle, WA
2019, Stories from the Arctic Refuge, Photoville, New York, NY
2019, How We See Ourselves: Natives Photograph, Photoville, New York, NY
2018, On the Sea Ice, We Wear White, Glazer’s Camera, Seattle, WA