Fadia Ahmad

Fadia Ahmad was born in Alicante, Spain in 1975. She is a photographer, artist, and filmmaker originally from Lebanon. Her practice focuses largely on creating narratives through image-making, that force the viewer to rethink their own beliefs and perspectives. Ahmad’s photographs transmit the expression of a Lebanese art photographer, one that is sensitive and precise, poetic and humanist. She finds value in even the most quotidian places, looking for ways to break down barriers of vulnerability and alienation.

Fadia Ahmad uses photography in her artistic practice. She has created several series of portraits and landscapes, particularly in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Engaged in humanitarian issues, she released two series of photographs and films, about refugees in Lebanon entitled Camps: It Could Be You.

Background

Born in Alicante, Spain, Ahmad was raised by Lebanese parents. She attended a French high school becoming bi-lingual at an early age. In 1991, she returned to Lebanon and attended university at the L'Institut d'études scéniques, audiovisuelles et cinématographiques (IESAV) in Beirut. In addition to studying film production and cinematography, she also took courses in photography, which became her preferred discipline.

She moved to Congo in Sub-Saharan Africa, where she worked in her family business while simultaneously pursuing her artistic projects and endeavors.

In 2002, she returned to Lebanon and began working on her photography practice.

She is currently based between Beirut and Paris.

Selected projects

Ahmad's most recent project is Beyrouth/Beirut (2019), an homage to the urban environment, complex demographics, and nostalgic architecture of Lebanon's capital. To complete this photo series, Ahmad walked a daily itinerary of 10,452 steps across the capital city from the neighborhood of Mar Mikhael to the Sporting Club, a social fixture located in the Raouche district. The number of steps mirrors the square footage of the Lebanese national territory, indicating Beirut as a microcosm representing the entire country. This project exemplifies Ahmad’s interest in and connection to, her homeland, particularly in the patch-work composition of Beirut, and, more broadly, her desire to address ongoing changes in the fabric of the city over the last decade. The project is divided into sections including urban geography, the train station or the lost time, architectural contrasts of past and present, the communities, street life, the fishermen and the seaside promenade and the Corniche.

Beyrouth/Beirut was originally intended as a traveling exhibition. It's first destination was Beit Beirut in 2019, a mansion built in 1924 located on the historic Green Line (Lebanon) which separated East and West Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. The exhibition was later staged at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts in Amman, but the COVID-19 pandemic put all plans for the show’s tour on hold.

In the wake of the 2020 Beirut Explosion on August 4th, Ahmad started filming a documentary, based on Beyrouth/Beirut, that examines the local population, historical architecture, and daily life the aftermath of the blast. It features interviews with a wide gamut of individuals who bore witness to the tragic event. The film is scheduled to begin its festival run in the coming year, depending on COVID-19 regulations.