About NATALY RADER
From East to West, from North to South.

Strangely enough but this is how my life has been going, both literally and figuratively. I was born in the Soviet Ukraine, learning and living a very structured, narrow-minded, and almost militant lifestyle.

But following my desire to learn about the world outside of the USSR, I have learned that there was a way to live my life the way I dreamed, even if it meant struggle and sacrifice. I fought and I rebelled, and that led me to my immigration to the US.

Whenever someone asks me where I'm from, my answer is always New York City. It has been my hometown from the day I moved there. It was the day I was reborn.

Everything I dreamed of was suddenly within reach. I discovered freedom... a world of opportunities.

I have always been exposed and submerged into the Art world. In Ukraine, I was a trained opera singer and a musician, with a close relationship with a theatre.

Upon moving to New York, I "fell" into a career as a make-up artist. I worked in fashion for a while and enjoyed it very much, but I felt that it was limited in its creative potential. Eventually, I managed to start working in a narrative film where I truly had almost boundless room for creativity, especially in the world of special effects make-up.

Then, one beautiful winter day, I became a mother and everything in my life changed. As time went by, I realized that there was no return to the life I lived before becoming a parent.

And that was when I got presented with a basic DSLR camera. It was love at the first sight all over again. It may be that all of my life's experiences were simply waiting for me to find an outlet to express myself. Or, it may be that I was starting to see things from a new perspective. So I dove deeply into photography.

All that I have lived through, my lows and my highs, all of it brought me here with camera in hand.

But a restless soul I am, (as my life has confirmed), nothing was enough, at least creatively. During the Covid-19 Pandemic in the year of 2020, following my instinct and calling, while combining all I have learned and was good at, I have founded a company World Cultures on View, dedicated to Women working in the photographic medium WorldWide. Connecting and sharing cultural experiences, while creating a Global community was the main goal. But like any start-up, this platform has grown and it is now a Non-Profit Organization 501- C3. 

You can find out more about it at www.worldculturesonview.com

And out of that project, Rise With Art Gallery was born - a collective work from the photographers Worldwide, supporting NGOs around the world by donating a portion of the proceeds from the Print sales.

And so, while wearing many hats, I am a working photographer, a Founder and President of World Cultures on View Non-Profit Inc., and CEO and a Curator at Rise With Art Co. www.risewithart.org

Can't be more excited about my life's journey, and who I have become. 

With much love to the World,
Nataly Rader