Polly Braden

Polly Braden (born 1974) is a Scottish documentary photographer, living in London. Her work on learning disabilities and autism has been shown in exhibitions at the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and at mac, Birmingham. Her work on single parent families has been shown in exhibitions at the Museum of the Home in London and Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool.

Life and work Braden was born in Perthshire, Scotland. She graduated from London College of Printing in 2003.

Her subjects have included China (where she lived for over 15 years), single parent families, and learning disabilities and autism.

Polly Braden’s Leaving Ukraine is a photography and film project that intimately documents the lives of women and children uprooted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine beginning in February 2022.

Publications Books of work by Braden China Between. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2010. . With essays by David Campany and Jennifer Higgie. Great Interactions: Life with Learning Disabilities and Autism. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2016. . With an interview by David Campany and an afterword by Sophie Howarth. London Square Mile: a Secret City. Tales from the City: Book 8. Hoxton Mini, 2019. . With an essay by David Kynaston.

Books with one other Adventures in the Lea Valley. East London Photo Stories: Book 12. Hoxton Mini, 2016. With David Campany. . Out of the Shadows: the untold story of people with autism or learning disabilities. Stockport: Dewi Lewis; West Bromwich: Multistory, 2018. With seven stories by Sally Williams and three first-hand accounts. . A Place For Me: 50 Stories of Finding Home. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2022. With Sally Williams. .

Books with contributions by Braden Street Photography Now. London: Thames & Hudson, 2010. (hardback). London: Thames & Hudson, 2011. (paperback). Edited by Sophie Howarth and Stephen McLaren. Includes work by Braden made in China.

Exhibitions Solo exhibitions and similar Great Interactions: Photographs by Polly Braden, National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, 2016 Polly Braden & Sally Williams: Out of the Shadows: the untold story of people with autism or learning disabilities, mac, Birmingham, 2018 Holding The Baby, Arnolfini, Bristol, 2022 Leaving Ukraine, Foundling Museum, London, 2024

Group exhibitions Real Estate: Art in a Changing City, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 2005 included Adventures in the Valley (Ongoing) with Campany Made in China, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, 2006 London Street Photography: 1860–2010, Museum of London, London, 2011

Awards 2002: Winner, Photographer of the Year, Guardian Student Media Award