Roberto Huarcaya (Lima, 1959) studied Psychology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (1978–1984), Film at the Italian Cultural Institute (1982), and Photography at the Centro del Video y la Imagen in Madrid (1989), the year he began focusing exclusively on photography. Since then, he has built a distinguished career as a visual artist, educator, and cultural promoter.

He taught photography at the Universidad de Lima, the Gaudí Institute, and the Centro de la Fotografía (now Centro de la Imagen), which he founded and directed until July 2022. Throughout his career, he has played a crucial role in the development of contemporary photography in Peru and Latin America.

He has taken part in major international art events, including the Havana Biennial (1997), Lima Biennial (1997, 1998, 2000), Venice Biennale (2001 and 2016), PhotoEspaña (1999), Mois de la Photo (Paris, 2010), Daegu Photo Biennale (South Korea, 2014), and Paris Photo and Art Basel Miami in multiple editions. He was selected to represent Peru at the 2024 Venice Biennale.

His solo exhibitions have been held in Lima, Paris, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Miami, New York, Montevideo, Guayaquil, and São Paulo. Among his standout series are La Nave del Olvido, Amazogramas, and Océanos. His work has earned awards such as first prize in Imagen del Perú (1991), third place in the Amor y Muerte contest in Germany (1997), and the Petrobras Award in Buenos Aires (2010). He was artist-in-residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (1997–1998).

His works are part of prestigious collections such as the Maison Européenne de la Photographie (Paris), Museum of Fine Arts (Houston), MOLAA (California), MUAC (Mexico), MALI (Lima), Fototeca Latinoamericana (Buenos Aires), and private collections including Jan Mulder and Hochschild.

He has been invited as lecturer, professor, and portfolio reviewer at PhotoEspaña, the Latin American Photography Forum of São Paulo, Buenos Aires’ Encuentros Abiertos, and other festivals and institutions in Chile, Guatemala, France, Mexico, Spain, and the United States. He was co-director of the Lima Photography Biennial (2012–2014), Lima Photo (2010–2019), and editor of CDI magazine and the Latin American photography journal Sueño de la Razón.