Richard Holder (born March 17, 1974) is a Belizean

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

and commercial photographer.

About Richard Holder

Richard Holder is the grandson of award-winning local Kriol

calypsonian A calypsonian, originally known as a ''chantwell'', is a musician from the anglophone Caribbean who sings songs of the Calypso music, calypso genre. Calypsos are musical renditions having their origins in the West African griot tradition. Origin ...

Cleveland Berry and the son of Dr. Marla Berry-Holder, Ph.D., who was an active

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and pioneer leader in Belize's

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

industry. Holder spent his early childhood in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

while his mother studied at the

University of West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the Tertiary education, higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking Country, cou ...

. He later grew up in the idyllic agricultural communities of Central Farm and Esperanza in the

Cayo District Cayo is a district located in the west part of Belize, and it contains the capital, Belmopan. It is the most extensive, second-most populous and third-most densely populated of the six districts of Belize. The district's capital is the town of S ...

of Western Belize. At the age of seventeen, Holder undertook intensive study in the

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before returning to his homeland in 1999. During his early

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

rendezvous, Holder soon realized that the camera was a way to create art faster than with a pen or a paintbrush, and an exciting means to explore light and color. Holder learned his craft at the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

(UNT) on the outskirts of

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. He graduated in 1997 with a BA in Photography and minor in English and Illustration. With a unique foundation as a

fine art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

painter and a

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

that budded as a child, Holder immediately created a name for himself among his photography counterparts in Belize "alternately shocking and entertaining" his audience. In 1999, upon his return to Belize, Holder's artistic

nude photography Nude photography is the creation of any photograph which contains an image of a nude or semi-nude person, or an image suggestive of nudity. Nude photography is undertaken for a variety of purposes, including educational uses, commercial applicati ...

of women was published in the Spanish edition of Penthouse. The following year, those images were featured in Holder's first solo exhibition titled, "Nude". His signature uninhibited style kept developing and ventured beyond the aesthetics of the female form. In subsequent solo exhibitions such as the controversial “WE” ( 1993 ), Holder produced large format light box images of

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

people taken in his studio. In 2009, The

Image Factory Art Foundation and Gallery An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be displayed through other media, including a projec ...

celebrated ten years of his fine art photography in Belize with a retrospective titled, "Decadence 1999–2009". Commercially, Holder has established himself as a people photographer with subjects ranging from the happy couple enjoying a

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds after their wedding to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase in a couple ...

in the tropics to the

Prime Minister of Belize This article lists the prime ministers and deputy prime ministers of Belize, from the establishment of the position of First Minister of British Honduras in 1961 to the present day. Office of the Prime Minister of Belize The office of prime ...

at his executive desk. Holder has become the premier photographer for the annual Belikin Beer Calendar produced by the country's only local and largest beer distributor. In 2010, he served as the Director of Photography for the national

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

, The Next Miss Belize.

R H Photo Limited

Richard Holder is the owner of R H Photo Ltd. – a modern photography company founded in 2004. The company started in 2000 a
www.richardholder.com
which now showcases Holder's artistic creations and snippets of his local and international exhibitions. R H Photo Ltd. opened its first professional studio in the heart of downtown Belize City, a place that has served as inspiration for some of Holder's greatest street projects.March 24, 2004:“A Rasta man’s Last Supper. Art or Sacrilege?”, 7NewsBelize.comOct. 9, 2008:“Project Poverty exhibition opens tonight at Mexican Institute”, Channel5Belize.com
In 2010, the company relocated to the outskirts of Belize City on the Northern Highway.

References

External links

www.richardholder.comwww.rhphotobelize.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holder, Richard Fashion photographers Living people 1974 births