Fadia Ahmad

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Fadia Ahmad was born in Alicante, Spain in 1975. She is a Lebanese photographer, artist, and filmmaker. 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 It Could Be You.

Background

Ahmad was born in Alicante, Spain to Lebanese parents who moved there to escape the Lebanese Civil War in the 1970s. 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 .

She moved to Namibia in Southern 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.

Of the documentary, Ahmad said: "The news showed the blast and its aftermath, but not the psychological impact it had on Beirut’s residents; it was important for me to bring forth how huge the psychological impact of that blast was. People have so much to say, but they never had a chance to say it. The audience will notice the documentary will seem to end at different instances. This symbolizes our neverending story. There is no defined beginning, no defined end. We are a people perpetually on the cusp of death. Every time we think it’s the end, we continue."

In August 2020, Ahmad was a judge on Season 2 of the World Art Collector Incubator, a series launched on Youtube that is "is dedicated to Lebanese artists." The mission statement of the program aims to highlight and promote both established and "promising" artists.

Festivals and Awards

Since releasing her first documentary, "Beirut, the Aftermath" in 2021, Ahmad's film was featured in many film festivals. She won awards including 2nd place in the Short Films category at the Lebanese Film Festival in Canada and four awards at the Five Continents International Film Festival 2021 in Venezuela.

• Lebanese Film Festival in Canada 2021 - Official Selection
• Lebanese Canadian Film Festival screening “Beirut the Aftermath” at Cinema Guzzo, Cote Vertu, Montreal, Canada
• Rabat International Author Film Festival - Official Selection
• Argenteuil International Film Festival 2021 - July Edition Winner
• Five Continents International Film Festival 2021 - Official Selection and four awards: Best Documentary Half-Length Film, Best Female Director Feature Film, Special Mention Production Feature Film, Best Poster.