Thea Swierstra
Text and photography
I am a writer and photographer based in Ghent, Belgium. I have worked as a journalist for the Belgian daily De Morgen for many years. My texts were also published in Leeuwarder Courant and Friesch Dagblad and magazines of several Belgian institutions and organizations e.g. TreinTramBus, Vlaamse Milieu Maatschappij, GO! Gemeenschapsonderwijs, Toerisme Vlaanderen, Christelijke Mutualiteit, Oxfam-Solidariteit.
I studied journalism at the School of Journalism and PR in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and I studied photography at KISP Volwassenenonderwijs in Ghent, Belgium.
My pictures were exhibited at the Fifty Two Awards Exhibition of Cultuurplatform Wondelgem in 2019, Vrijheid art festival in 2019, Portfolio Exhibition of KISP Volwassenenonderwijs in 2021, Wondel'Art Exhibition in 2021 and 2022, Natuurpunt exhibition in 2021, the 30x30x30 birthday and reopening celebration of Cultuurhuis Herbakker in Eeklo in 2024 and at Amal Gent, also in 2024. In 2025 I participated in a group exhibition in the Ghent city museum STAM that was linked to the De Poorten exhibition also in STAM.
Pictures of mine have also been used for scientificic purposes. Many of them were used by Adwine Vanslembrouck for her research on mosquitoes. Another one appeared in a research paper on snakes written by Masud Salimian, professor at the Morgan State University (USA). My pictures are also regularly published in the TreinTramBus magazine Mondig Mobiel.
Are you interested in buying one of my pictures or would you like me to make some pictures or write a text for you? Please, fill in the contact form. Price to be agreed.