Daro Sulakauri is a Georgian Photojournalist and Documentary Photographer. She was born in the Caucasus nation of Georgia and currently lives in Tbilisi. After obtaining a degree from the Department of Cinematography at the Tbilisi State University, she moved to New York to study photography at the International Center of Photography. Before graduating in 2006, she was awarded the John and Mary Phillips Scholarship as well as being recognized by the ICP Director's Fund.
Upon completing her studies, she returned to the Pankisi Gorge in her native Georgia to document a hidden narrative of the Chechen conflict in an outpost of refugees who crossed to Georgia from Chechnya and have remained in relative isolation ever since. The project won second place of the Magnum Foundation's Young Photographer in the Caucasus award in 2009.
Daro has won a Lensculture award for her story on early marriages in mini series as well as EU prize for journalism and Human Rights House prize in London. She was included in a list of 30 under 30 Women Photographers and PDN' 30 emerging photographers to watch. She is a participant of World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass 2017.
As a freelance photographer, you can see her work in National Geographic, der Spiegel, New York Times Lens, Mother Jones, Forbes Magazine, and other.
The Mktvari river is deeply interwoven with Georgia’s history - it has inspired its bards, it has emboldened its warlords.
Life near the occupied territories of Georgia has been unsettling ever since the war 14 years ago.
The Kura-Araks watershed has united individuals living across the South Caucasus for centuries, providing a lifeline to communities on either side of human borders. However, the interests of each nation often clash, leaving many issues, like water contamination, unaddressed. Neglected, daily life grows bleaker by the day for those whose livelihoods depend on the waters. This story follows the visual connections between the lives of those living along both rivers, documenting their struggle and resilience.