Gaza Strip photographer wins at top UAE photography award

Palestinian Photographer Fatima Alzahra Shbair Wins Prestigious HIPA Award

The United Arab Emirates gave Palestinian photographer Fatima Alzahra Shbair of the Gaza Strip the coveted Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA), sending a strong message to the war-torn West Asian region. Her outstanding work chronicling the destruction of Gaza despite continued Israeli attacks is highlighted by this honor, which was granted on November 12, 2024.

The HIPA, renowned for being the world’s richest photography competition with a prize pool exceeding $200,000, has been celebrating top photography talents for over 15 years. Ms. Shbair, who hails from Gaza’s Jabaliya city, has spent much of her life capturing the resilience of her people, inspired by her grandmother’s love for photography. She began her career with a deep personal connection to the medium and her heritage, even as her life in Gaza has been marred by loss and hardship.

Ms. Shbair talked about her emotional journey after obtaining the honor. “I don’t have time to lament the things I’ve lost, like my house, family, friends, and memories. Due to our inability to obtain essential medications, my father, who had been ill for 15 years, died during the war,” she said. Unfortunately, he passed away when she was taking pictures of the injured in the same hospital. The first 190 days of the Gaza War were documented in her award-winning portfolio, which featured horrific images of devastation, widespread deaths, and the agony brought on by bombings and a lack of food.

For her moving portrayal of survival amidst fear and deprivation, Ms. Shbair was awarded first place in the “Portfolio Storytelling” category. The HIPA praised her work as a deeply personal narrative intertwined with the collective suffering of those around her, documenting a reality of resilience against overwhelming odds. Ms. Shbair’s photographic journey continues to serve as a poignant reminder of the harsh realities faced by the people of Gaza. She was forced to evacuate to Cairo last summer, but much of her family remains in Gaza, where daily communication is a constant struggle.

Another Palestinian photographer from Gaza, Abdulrahman Zaqout, was recognized with a merit medal for his efforts to chronicle the starvation in Gaza, highlighting the dire humanitarian situation in the area.

In the meantime, Syrian-born civil engineer-turned-photographer Sami Al Olaibi took home the “HIPA Photographer of the Year” honor for his remarkable astrophotography and photographs of the natural beauty of the Gulf region. He stressed that, in contrast to the frequently turbulent myths surrounding it, his work offers a new perspective on the beauty of the West Asian region.

Chinese photographer Liping Cao won this year’s HIPA Grand Prize for his striking picture of towering windmills over a desolate riverbed, which served as a clear visual statement on the pressing need for sustainable development.

Other notable winners included Rahul Vishwanath Sachdev from Pune, who secured first place in the general color category, and Ateeb Hussain from Kolkata, who took home third prize in the general black and white category. Sri Lanka’s Hikkaduwa Liyanage Prasantha Vinod also earned recognition in the same black-and-white category.

The HIPA awards not only recognize outstanding photographic achievements but also raise awareness of pressing global issues, from climate change to humanitarian crises, through the lens of talented photographers like Fatima Alzahra Shbair.