ZARA SAMIRY
Visual Storyteller / Photographer & Writer
📍France & Morocco

Zara Samiry is a Moroccan visual storyteller whose work explores the intersections of identity, gender, and cultural heritage. Born in Casablanca in 1982, she uses her camera as a gentle weapon to capture the unseen: women reclaiming their place, traditions reinvented, and the quiet revolutions of the soul.
Her journey into photography began after a detour through advertising and communication, a path she initially pursued to please her father. Yet, her true calling was always storytelling—whether through images, words, or the spaces in between. She later refined her craft at the École Supérieure d’Art et Design d’Orléans, where she earned her DNSAP (National Higher Diploma in Plastic Arts) in 2010. In 2020, she further deepened her narrative skills with a BA in Modern Literature from Sorbonne University, blending visual and literary artistry.
Zara’s work is deeply rooted in North African narratives, with a focus on marginalized voices and the resilience of women. Zara’s approach is empathic and immersive. She believes in photography as a tool for transcendence and social change, capturing not just images but the emotions, struggles, and triumphs behind them. Her work has been described as a bridge between heritage and defiance, where every frame tells a story of resilience and grace.
She currently lives and works between Paris and Casablanca, continuing to document the unseen and the extraordinary in the ordinary.

EDUCATION

2020–2022 – BA in Modern Literature, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
2008–2010 – DNSAP (National Higher Diploma in Plastic Arts), France
2005–2008 – Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising and Communication, Casablanca, Morocco

ARTISTIC PRACTICE

Zara Samiry’s work explores identity, gender, and cultural heritage through a poetic and documentary lens. Her projects focus on marginalized voices, women’s resilience, and the reinvention of traditions.

SELECTED PROJECTS

• Le goût des nèfles (Taste of Medlars) (In progress)

A visual and narrative project exploring inner conflicts and identity.
→ Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2025 nominee.

• Tales of Moroccan Amazons (2014)

A visual and narrative exploration of the first female Tbourida riders in Morocco, challenging gender norms in a traditionally male-dominated equestrian art.
→ Supported by Magnum Foundation, Prince Claus Fund, AFAC. Exhibited at ICP Museum (NYC), Lagos Photo Festival, Dubai Photo Exhibition, Beit Beirut. Published in NYT Lens, CNN, Marie Claire, Frankie Magazine…

• My Taboo Child (2013)

A documentary project on single mothers in Morocco, addressing stigma and societal taboos.
→ Selected by World Press Photo (Reporting Change Grant). Exhibited at Qatar Photographic Society, PHOTOQUAI (Paris), Humanity House (The Hague). Published in PHOTOQUAI 2015 book (Actes Sud).

• Dans la Ville Blanche (2010)

Morocco’s first web-documentary, exploring urban life and social dynamics in Casablanca.
→ Recognized as a pioneering work in Moroccan digital storytelling.

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2021 – The Taste of Medlars, 25 Years 25 HOURS Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2017 – Tales of Moroccan Amazons, ICP – International Center of Photography Museum, New York, USA
2016 – Tales of Moroccan Amazons- The Dubai Photo Exhibition
2015 – Tales of Moroccan Amazons – Photo Kathmandu
2015 – Tales of Moroccan Amazons selection of The New York Times – Lagos Festival 
2015 – My Taboo Child – Photoquai, Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France
2015 – My Taboo Child – Humanity House – La Hay