New Photography from the Middle East and North Africa
Shaima Al Tamimi, Yemen
In the last five years, the Arab Documentary Photography Program (ADPP) has supported fifty photographers from and working in the Middle East and North Africa to produce independent and nuanced stories.
Central to the program’s mission is amplifying creative approaches to visual storytelling that challenge conventional narratives about the Arab region. We’re pleased to share the latest projects produced through the program–seven stories that range in form, style, and topic. Exploring themes of climate change, exile, identity, and more, they are:
In the Light of Change by Elwely Vall, Mauritania
Dry by Abdo Shanan, Algeria
Among You by M’hammed Kilito, Morocco
As if We Never Came by Shaima Al Tamimi, Yemen
Those Who Dance on the Staircase by Nadine Al Koudsi, Syria and Lebanon
Describe the Sky to Me by Roger Mokbel, Lebanon
Letters to Moses by Ravy Shaker, Egypt
ADPP is a joint initiative by the Magnum Foundation, the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, and the Prince Claus Fund.
“I want the viewer to doubt what they’ve been told about who and what is Algerian, and I want them to question the idea of nationality, even their own, for what is nationality anyway?”
“These individuals have the courage to choose their own realities, often pushing the limits of society further. Whether through their creative activities, their appearance, or their sexuality, they convey the image of a young Morocco–alert, changing, claiming the right to be different and celebrating diversity. ”
M'hammed Kilito
Ravy Shaker, Egypt