PAT O'HARE
BACKGROUND
Pat O’Hare was born in Liverpool, England. He is best known for his pioneering work in drug policy and harm reduction but is also an accomplished artist – a photographer whose work was exhibited in Spain, the United Kingdom, France, USA, the Netherlands, and Switzerland and a musician in bands in Liverpool and in Geneva. He is an activist and an artist and in 2023 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Pat started working in the drug field in the mid-1980s when he became Drug Education Coordinator for Sefton on Merseyside and then Director of the Mersey Drug Training and Information Centre in Liverpool. In 1989, he founded the International Journal of Drug Policy and was the Editor from 1990 to 2000. In response to the interest created by the innovative ‘Mersey Harm Reduction Model’, Pat initiated the First International Conference on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm in 1990. He was the Executive Director of Harm Reduction International (https://hri.global/) from its founding in 1996 until 2004.
Pat has been instrumental in helping governments around the world to change the way they approach the problems caused by drug use, especially those caused by the sharing of injecting equipment. He is co-editor of three books on the reduction of drug related harm, has published extensively on HIV prevention, education and drug policy, and has spoken at many international conferences during the past thirty-five years.
In 1990, Pat was given the Norman E. Zinberg Award for Achievement in the Field of Medicine and Treatment by the Drug Policy Foundation in Washington, and, in 2000, he was given Harm Reduction International’s most prestigious prize – the International Rolleston Award. In February 2009, he was made Visiting Professor in Drug Use and Addiction at Liverpool John Moores University.
During his residency at Do Picho, Pat is accompanied by his wife, Annette Verster. Annette was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She is a social anthropologist and has worked in the area of HIV, other infectious diseases and drug policy reform. She was the first AIDS coordinator for Amsterdam and supported the implementation of a range of innovative public health responses such as the first needle and syringe program. In 2006 she started working with the World Health Organization on people who use drugs and other often marginalized ‘key’ populations at risk of HIV such as gay men, sex workers, trans- and gender diverse as well as people in prisons. Annette developed numerous tools and guidelines and is a strong advocate for a public health approach to drug use and drug policy reform. She led the work in WHO on HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs in key populations until her retirement in August 2025. Now, In Galicia and beyond, Annette hopes to further her other passions such as for pottery, for nature and the environment.
PAT’S DO PICHO PROJECT
Pat comes to Palas de Rei with a project similar to one he did 10 years ago in Casarabonela (Andalucia), where he photographed “the faces and places” (los rostros y lugares), taking an x-ray of the town and its people. He will work with a team of local and international artists who work photographically and with other mediums – see the Project Team Page. Together, they will immerse themselves in the community and hang out with its people, photographing Palas de Rei and the people who live there, for an exhibition and photobook planned for spring/summer 2026.
Palas de Rei has received a lot of attention recently due to the project of the Portuguese multinational ALTRI to build a mega cellulose factory within its borders, near another municipality, Melide. The ALTRI project has led many to take a new look at Palas de Rei, rediscovering it and recovering it as a place with traditions, a thriving tourism industry linked to the Camino de Santiago, other forward-looking industries, a lively and diverse cultural scene and a bright future for which many are fighting. Capturing this, through the eyes of local and international photographers, and with the contributions of the people of Palas on what they want to see captured in exhibitions and a photo book, is a great challenge and a great opportunity.