ABOUT
Cris Toala Olivares is an internationally award-winning Ecuadorian photographer, storyteller, and independent publisher based in the Netherlands.
Born to a Chilean mother and an Ecuadorian father, Cris has developed a practice shaped by movement, distance, and immersion. His work unfolds through long-term projects that explore the relationship between landscape, culture, and memory moving between the Amazon rainforest, volcanic territories, and European urban environments.
His process is grounded in time. Rather than documenting from the surface, he lives within the places he photographs, building trust and returning over years. This sustained engagement allows his work to reveal what is often overlooked — stories of resilience, transformation, and the invisible connections between people and their environment.
This philosophy extends into his publishing practice through CHASQUI Publishing, the independent publishing house he founded.
The name Chasqui refers to the messengers of the Inca Empire runners who carried information, objects, and memory across vast distances, connecting territories long before modern infrastructure existed. Moving in relay, they ensured that knowledge, culture, and communication remained alive across the Andes.
In a contemporary context, Cris approaches his work in a similar way: as a form of transmission.
His books are not only visual documents, but vessels carrying landscapes, histories, and human experiences across time and geography.
Each publication is conceived as a carefully crafted object, where image, material, and narrative come together in limited, high-quality editions.
Food often marks the beginning of these journeys. Around the table, dialogue unfolds, opening the door to deeper narratives. This has led Cris to work closely with communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where he has supported women in developing high-quality chocolate from native cacao combining ancestral knowledge with contemporary practice and sustainable growth.
In collaboration with Peruvian archaeologist Quirino Olivera and local communities, Cris participated in an important discovery in the Amazon, contributing to a deeper understanding of ancient civilizations and their relationship with nature, while helping preserve cultural and ecological heritage.
His work has been published worldwide through leading agencies such as Reuters, Associated Press, Getty Images, and National Geographic. Over time, he developed a distinctive visual language that combines journalistic rigor with a deeply personal, authorial perspective.
After years working within these structures, Cris chose an independent path focusing on the creation of books as physical extensions of his long-term projects.
His recent work includes:
AMSTERDAM — a long-term visual exploration of the city developed over more than a decade, offering a new perspective on its canals and urban life
Living with Volcanoes — a global study of active volcanoes and the communities living alongside them
The Wadden Sea — an exploration of one of the world’s largest intertidal ecosystems, captured through aerial photography
His work has received international recognition, including a Magnum Photography Award, and he has been invited to share his perspective at platforms such as TED.
In 2026, the Ecuadorian government officially recognized his artistic and literary work for giving visibility and voice to the indigenous communities of the Andes and the Amazon.
Today, Cris continues to develop long-term projects between Europe and South America, expanding his practice through photography, publishing, and material experimentation carrying stories across landscapes, much like the Chasquis once did.
AWARDS & HONOURS
2025 Lucie Foundation Grand Prize Winner
• 2019: Xposure Sharjah UAE
• 2016: Magnum Photography Award
• 2015: MIFA Honorable Mention Edotorial-Environmental
• 2014: Zilveren Camera: Third Price Nature and Environment
• 2013: Young photography talent, selected by National Geographic, presented in issue October 2013
• 2013: New, Dutch Photography Talent 2013
• 2012: CPN (Canon Professional Network) Overall Favourite Image, Editor’s Choice
• 2009: Zilveren Camera: First Price foreign news
• 2009: Zilveren Camera: Third Price Portrait
BOOKS
• 2024: Book Amsterdam
• 2022: Book Living With Volcanoes
• 2014: Book The Amsterdam Canals
• 2013: Museum van Loon, book Gardens of Amsterdam Canals
• 2010 - present: Anne Frank House, Several documentation and publications
EXHIBITS
• 2019: International Photography Festival - Xposure Sharjah UAE
• 2017: Art Miami whit Cranio
• 2016: International Photoreporter Festival Saint-Brieuc France
• 2015: Fotofestival Naarden
• 2013: Museum Het Grachtenhuis , Amsterdam, The Netherlands, solo exhibition ‘The Amsterdam Canals’, presented by
National Geographic
• 2012: Look For Art Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, duo exhibition ‘Fijne Hanen’ with Alice Wielinga
• 2012: Concordia, Enschede, The Netherlands, duo exhibition ‘Fijne Hanen’ with Alice Wielinga
CLIENTS
Reuters, Anne Frank Museum, Tenuta Luce Wine, Iamsterdam, Den Helder, National Geographic, GEO, The Guardian, Finale Ligure, De Jong Groep, El Universo Ecuador, Der Spiegel, Sony Japan, National Geographic Italia, Fjallraven, Waddensea World Heritage, , HanWag.