Who is Alice Aedy? And why everyone should know about Earthrise Studio
Championing activists that are changing the environmental narrative
Forget following pop celebrities, nowadays it’s all about the activists. Alice Aedy is a documentary photographer, filmmaker, environmentalist, and now co-founder of Earthrise Studio. She has become a game-changer in the media world ready to rattle existing structures and challenge us to think differently about the environment.
Committed to raising awareness of the accelerating pace of the climate crisis through visual mediums, Alice is also helping to educate and inspire a new generation of climate warriors. And she’s only 29 years old -- respect! I certainly know who I want to be like when I grow up 😉
So what is Alice’s story? Let’s explore how Alice emerged as such a key contender in the environmental narrative and what we can do to support her cause.
From filmmaker to activist storyteller
Born and raised in London, Aedy started her work in the media with a focus on the refugee and migrant crisis, as well as women’s rights.
After working at various refugee camps in Greece, Iraq, and Serbia, she received mounting praise for the powerful visuals she captured which highlight the pain and hardship experienced by individuals escaping their homes. While in the field, Aedy also gained insights into how the climate emergency is exacerbating the issue of mass migration and the broader refugee crisis.
“There is power in storytelling - stories shape our lives: how we live them, why we live them and what it means to be human. It is also through stories that we dare to imagine a better world.”
- Alice Aedy
At the same time, she also met her partner Jack Harries — a YouTube sensation and filmmaker also dedicated to the environment. Alongside his twin brother, Harries would eventually play a pivotal role with Aedy in the creation of Earthrise (but more on that later!)
In an interview with Canon, Alice explained that she gradually became aware of the scope that the climate crisis was having on all aspects of her work. So, she decided to commit to educating herself fully about the topic. "If I cared about social justice, I would have to care about climate change, so I went on a huge journey to inform myself," she said.
It wouldn’t be long before Alice was trekking around the world and capturing footage of remote locations - and the wider environmental impact that she was witnessing. Skilled behind the lens, her visuals captured the attention of various news outlets and brands that were drawn to her work and commitment. She’s had documentaries published by The Guardian, and even Oprah shared her film ‘A Letter to My Loved Ones.’
The evolution of Earthrise
“My work is driven by the idea that visual storytelling and images have the power to change the world,”
Alice speaking to Canon.
By 2020, Alice, her partner Jack and his twin brother Finn had already earned themselves prominent names as environmental activists. They’d taken part in protests alongside organizations such as Extinction Rebellion and used their platforms to raise awareness of climate issues. The same year, the trio embarked on their biggest project yet by kickstarting the creation of Earthrise Studio.
Formed as an online platform, Earthrise was launched with the aim of shedding more light on the climate crisis. This involved sharing stories of people on the front line of climate change as well as serving as an educational tool for those looking to get involved.
In their launch manifesto, the Earthrise founders explained on Instagram: “We are not scientists or experts, we are young people forced by our new reality to confront the climate crisis. These are our guiding principles and we invite you to hold us accountable. As we build and develop this community, we are committed to learning openly, and with vulnerability and we hope you’ll come on this journey with us.”
Within days of its launch on social media, Earthrise had amassed over 200,000 followers in a testament to the importance of the topics they were covering. Since its conception, the platform has acted as an important voice by reframing the climate crisis narrative and helping others understand what’s at stake. Followers now use Earthrise to learn about everything climate-related and get involved with important, trending conversations related to sustainability efforts.
Now running an 8-member team from a trendy Hackney studio, Aedy has gone on to produce inspiring content that has included interviews with David Attenborough and Barack Obama. The group was also recently named on Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Social Impact list. Their inspiring content has continued to evolve at a phenomenal pace and now includes a Spotlight 12-part series on climate solutions.
An optimistic future
In celebration of Earth Day a few years ago, Alice spoke to the Earth Issue about the importance of optimism in face of the mounting crisis.
“It is more important than ever to harness the optimism and imagination required to build the world we so urgently need. We need a new narrative, a new story for the future. I believe that through storytelling we can build a vision of this better world, and we need all creatives to join in that vision-building. That is the idea at the heart of my platform Earthrise,” she said in 2021.
As we look to Earth Day two years on, Alice’s mission toward a better world continues at an unstoppable pace.
It is her optimism and dedication to a better planet that we can all use as inspiration. Her call is that everyone has a part to play in tackling the climate crisis and together we can craft a vision of a world that is ready for change.
You can find out more about Alice by visiting her website here
There’s really no stopping Alice in her quest for a better world. After all of her successes she also set up a charity called Choose Earth that was created to back indigenous activitists fighting for our planet. The charity’s first campaign raised an incredible £100,000 and is yet more reasons why we love Aedy and her dedication!
What are you doing this Earth Day? Learn more about Earth Day and what you can be doing to support climate efforts by heading to Earthrise Studio now.
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