- Ten years ago, photographer Hilary Gauld’s mission to broaden Down syndrome awareness was inspired by a friend’s son
- Through her photo series, Gauld documents a select group of subjects year after year, and over the years she’s had a chance to watch them grow up
- “I believe that all of these portraits have opened the conversation to bigger things in the Down syndrome space,” Gauld tells PEOPLE, adding that “when people see these photographs, they stop, they read, they learn, they share”
Ten years ago, Hilary Gauld’s mission to broaden Down syndrome awareness was inspired by a friend whose son was diagnosed with the condition. The Canadaian photographer soon discovered that the community was seldom represented outside of “token” and stereotypical images.
Working with her friend Kate Herron and her son Caleb, Gauld took on the project of creating more authentic imagery, first with a fundraising calendar for the Waterloo Wellington Down Syndrome Society (WWDSS).
“I was really shocked at the imagery that existed online,” Gauld tells PEOPLE. “And I felt it really didn’t align with who I had met in real life. And I noticed a huge gap online with representation of people with Down syndrome in all areas of life, all lived experience, work, family, friends, in relationships, in school. And so I really felt that we could perhaps make some sort of impact in that space.”
For the past 10 years, she has focused on different issues related to those in the Down syndrome community, chronicling their stories in series about love, aging and achieving goals. Over the years, she’s also photographed many of her subjects time and time again, so she’s seen babies grow up into children, while other kids are now young adults.
Seeing their evolution has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the project, Gauld says.
“When I started photographing, some of them were 10 or 11 and now they’re finishing high school, some of them started in high school and now they’re out and looking for employment or they’re in relationships,” the photographer says. “I think it’s made a lot of them feel really good about themselves.”
In the new documentary Decade, behind-the-scenes footage of past years’ photoshoots brings the participants’ emotional journeys to life.
On Sunday, Oct. 27, the film and the special 10th anniversary series are set to debut at an event coinciding with Down Syndrome Awareness Month in the U.S. and Down Syndrome Awareness Week in Canada.
This year’s photo series features 62 individuals with Down syndrome ages 1 to 36.
For Gauld, the project has had a profound impact on her own perspective.
“I think that working with people with Down syndrome or people with disabilities just opens your mind up to all people’s lives and every thing that people face in their lives,” Gauld tells PEOPLE. “And the compassion and the understanding and the learning that you get from working with people with Down syndrome really does spread into other areas of my work.”
“I believe that all of these portraits have opened the conversation to bigger things in the Down syndrome space,” she adds. “And so when people see these photographs, they stop, they read, they learn, they share.”
“I think my hope really is that people will look at these portraits and open that conversation up with themselves and with their greater community,” she cotninues. “How can I support people with Down syndrome, whether it be in a relationship, in friendship, in work, in school? I think it’s just one of those things that the more we understand about people, the easier it is to show up for them in an authentic way.”
