Rawiya / She who tells a story. From the exhibition at Bildmuseet 2013.
Rawiya / She who tells a story. From the exhibition at Bildmuseet 2013.
Rawiya / She who tells a story. From the exhibition at Bildmuseet 2013.
The photography collective Rawiya was founded in 2009 by a group of female photographers from the Middle East.
Its members work on projects on the subject of human dignity and pay particular attention to the lives of women. Through in-depth photo-essays, they tell stories about human experiences and portray, for instance, the many consequences of war. Their images provide an insider's view of a region in flux. They balance social contradictions while reflecting on social and political issues and stereotypes.
Rawiya, which means "she who tells a story" in Arabic, presents photography projects by Myriam Abdelaziz (born 1976, Egypt, based in New York/Cairo), Tamara Abdul Hadi (born 1980, Iraq/Canada, based in Beirut), Laura Boushnak (born 1976, Kuwait, based in Sarajevo), Tanya Habjouqa (born 1975, Jordan, based in Jerusalem), Dalia Khamissy (born 1973, Lebanon, based in Beirut) and Newsha Tavakolian (born 1981, Iran, based in Teheran).
Rawiya / She Who Tells a Story is exhibited at Bildmuseet February 24 - May 19, 2013. Here is a brief presentation of the participating photographers.
Myriam Abdelaziz
Myriam Abdelaziz is a French photographer of Egyptian origins, born in Cairo. Focusing on the Middle Eastern and African regions, Myriam searches for stories that overcome physical and cultural barriers to reveal what global communities may have in common. She has exhibited internationally and has been published in Newsweek, Time Magazine, Forbes Magazine and The British Journal of Photography.
Tamara Abdul Hadi
Tamara Abdul Hadi was born to Iraqi parents in the United Arab Emirates and raised in Montreal, Canada. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine arts she moved to Dubai, UAE and began her photography career as an artist and photojournalist. She has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times and The Financial Times. Her personal photography projects deal with issues of social injustice and deconstructing stereotypes.
Laura Boushnak
Laura Boushnak is a Palestinian photographer born in Kuwait. She began her photography career covering news for the Associated Press in Lebanon and later worked as a photo editor and photographer for Agence France-Presse (AFP). Her nine-year wire service experience included covering hard news in conflicts such as the war in Iraq, and the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Her work has been published in the New York Times, The Guardian, The National Geographic, Le Monde and many more.
Tanya Habjouqa
Tanya Habjouqa was born in Jordan and educated in the US, receiving her masters in Global Media & Middle East Politics from the University of London, SOAS. Tanya Habjouqa's documentary photography takes us through the Middle East's conflict zones by capturing glimmers of hope, dignity and laughter; all of which (sometimes) override the region's emblematic stresses of division and war. Beginning her career in Texas, she documented Mexican migrant communities and urban poverty before returning to the Middle East. Based in East Jerusalem, she is working on personal projects that explore socio-political dynamics, occupation, and subcultures of the Levant. Tanya Habjouqa received The Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund 2013.
Dalia Khamissy
Born in Beirut, Dalia Khamissy's work revolves around the social and socio-political stories in the Middle Eastern region, documenting mostly the aftermath of Lebanon's wars and issues concerning women rights. Dalia Khamissy's work has been published on the BBC, Aperture Magazine, The Times, Amnesty International, Ibraaz, Le Monde, and Wall Street Journal amongst others.
Newsha Tavakolian
Newsha Tavakolian, born in Tehran, Iran, is a self-taught photo-grapher who began working for the Iranian press at age 16. She started at the women's daily newspaper Zan, and later on worked for other reformist dailies, all of which have since been banned. Her work has been published by international magazines and newspapers such as the Time Magazine, Newsweek, New York Times Magazine, and National Geographic. In 2007 she was a finalist for the Inge Morath award by Magnum Photo Agency and in 2009 she was a finalist for the Magic of Persia Contemporary Art Prize.
