Curriculum Vitae

 

Laura El-Tantawy is an Egyptian photographer. She was born (1980) in Worcestershire, England to Egyptian parents. She attended high school in Saudi Arabia, started university in Cairo, Egypt and completed her degree in the US. Living between East and West for much of her life has been a source of both immense enlightenment and considerable anxiety — contemplating notions of home, identity, culture and ultimately, 'the self'. It is through the allure of photography as an artistic medium of limitless boundaries that she chooses to explore these themes. With her characteristically painterly and impressionistic eye on reality, Laura explores social and environmental issues pertaining to her background.  

 

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EDUCATION

2011: MA Art and Media Practice, University of Westminster - London, UK
2009: Research fellow, University of Oxford - Oxford UK
2002: ABJ/BA journalism & political science, University of Georgia - Athens, Georgia, USA

 

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AWARDS

2017: Codice Mia Portfolio Prize, 2nd place - Milan, Italy
2016: Nominee Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize – Germany/UK
2016: Finalist Emerging Photographer Fund, Burn Magazine – USA
2015: Selected Best Photo Books 2015, Guatephoto – Guatemala City, Guatemala
2015: Selected Best Photo Books 2015, Encontros da Imagem – Braga, Portugal
2015: Winner Best Photo Book 2015 Public Vote, Fotobookfestival - Kassel, Germany
2015: Finalist Best book of the Year, PhotoEspana - Madrid, Spain
2015: Finalist Best book of the Year, Fotobookfestival - Kassel, Germany
2015: 3rd Place Professional Book, Self Published, Int'l Photography Awards - USA
2015: Finalist Best book of the Year, Athens Photo Festival - Athens, Greece
2014: Winner Reminders Photography Stronghold Grant - Tokyo, Japan
2014: Finalist Photocrati Fund
2014: Finalist Unseen Book Dummy Award for "In the Shadow of the Pyramids"
2013: Finalist PHE Ojodepez Award for Human Values
2013: Winner Cortona on the Move OFF CIRCUIT
2013: HM FotoVisura Grant
2012: Winner FOAM Magazine TALENT
2012: 4th Place Photocrati Fund
2012: Finalist Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for International Photography Grant
2011: HM Lens Culture International Exposure Awards
2011: Finalist Prix Bayeux-Calvados des Correspondants de Guerre
2011: Finalist, Ian Parry Scholarship
2011: Finalist, BURN magazine Emerging Photographer Fund (EPF)

 

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SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2017: Art Heritage Gallery, "In the Shadow of the Pyramids" - New Delhi, India
2017: Seen Fifteen Gallery, "Beyond Here Is Nothing" – London, UK
2016: Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, ‘The Cube’ Deutsche Börse Foundation – Frankfurt, Germany
2016: Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, Photographer’s Gallery – London, UK
2016: Art Now, LCC Festival of Journalism & Art – London, UK
2015: Reminders Photography Stronghold, “I’ll Die For You”- Tokyo, Japan
2015: Gulf Photo Plus, “In the Shadow of the Pyramids”– Dubai, UAE
2014: Oxford Photofestival – Oxford, UK
2014: Backlight Photofestival “In the Shadow of the Pyramids” – Finland
2013: Gulf Photo Plus, “The Veil” – Dubai, UAE
2013: Chobi Mela Festival, “In the Shadow of the Pyramids”– Bangladesh
2011: Reciprocity Studio, "I'll Die For You: Suicide in Rural India" – Vermont, USA
2011: The Chainstore, “I’ll Die For You” – London, UK

 

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SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2017: "Beyond Here Is Nothing", Unseen Photo Fair - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2017: Photobook Phenomenon, CCCB and at Fundació Foto Colectania - Barcelona, Spain
2015: "The Photobook As An Art Object" – New Delhi, India
2015: “In the Shadow of the Pyramids”, FotoLeggendo Festival – Rome, ITALY
2015: "I'll Die For You", Chobi Mela VII – Dhaka, Bangladesh
2014 "In the Shadow of the Pyramids", FotoIstanbul – Istanbul, Turkey
2014: “Mobile”, Center for Photography at Woodstock – New York, USA
2014: “In Context: Portrait in Contemporary Photographic Practice”, Wellin Museum – New York, USA
2013: "The Sacred Paths", Modem Museum – Hungary
2013: “In the Shadow of the Pyramids”, Look 13, International Photography Festival – Liverpool, UK
2012: Foam Talent – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2012: "The Art of Documentary” PowerHouse Arena – New York, USA
2012: “Women on the Verge” The Empty Quarter Gallery – Dubai, UAE
2011: "Arab Revolutions", Third Floor Gallery – Cardiff, Wales, UK
2011: “The Veil”, The North Wall Gallery – Oxford, UK
2011: “Revolutions”, Tache Gallery – Cairo, Egypt
2011: “Humankind” Power House Arena – New York, USA
2010: “Land, Country Life in the Urban Age” Noorderlicht Festival – Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
2010: Bedfordbury Gallery – Covent Garden, London, UK
2009: Italian Institute for Culture – Paris, France
2007: Zen Gallery – Bangkok, Thailand

 

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SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

2017: The New Yorker, “Most Die Young” by Camille Bordas (January 2017) - USA
2017: “In the Shadow of the Pyramids”, Monthly Photography (January 2017) – South Korea
2017: Foam International Photography Magazine, Who We Are (January 2017) – The Netherlands
2016: Source Photographic Review, The Photobook Issue (December 2016) - UK
2016: “In the Shadow of the Pyramids” Pro Photographer (December 2016) - New Zealand
2016: "Art in a Time of Conflict" by Kamila Shamsie, The Financial Times (September 27, 2016) – UK
2016: “Photographing the Egyptian Revolution”, ID-Vice (August 22, 2016) - UK
2016: The National, “New book captures impact of Egypt’s revolution on daily life” (May 3, 2016) - UAE
2016: AnOtherMagazine, “Visions of Self, Nation and Revolution“ (May 3, 2016) – UK
2016: Dazed, “What Does a Revolution Look Like?” (April, 14, 2016) - UK
2016: Time Lightbox, "The Night Mubarak Stepped Down" (February 11, 2016) - USA
2015: "In the Shadow of the Pyramids", Raw View Magazine - Finland
2015: “Portraits of Strength: Seven Extraordinary Women”, National Geographic Proof - USA
2015: “La Rivoluzione Finisce Dallo Psicologo”, Internazionale - Italy
2015: “Egypt Through the Experience of Laura El-Tantawy” Fotografia Magazine - Italy
2015: “In the Shadow of the Pyramids” Vrij Nederland – The Netherlands2015 “A Personal Exploration of Egypt’s Turbulent Years” Time Lightbox – USA
2014: "Inedible Truth: The Politics of Food" Australian Photojournalist - Australia
2014: "How Smartphones Changed the Way We Experience Photography" Time Lightbox - USA
2014: "Redefining Smartphone Photography" The New Yorker Photobooth - USA
2014: "Egypt: Outside the Cities" International New York Times
2014: "A Love of Land in Egypt's Farms" NYT Lens - USA
2014: "Assignment Cairo" FLTR - UK
2014: "An Immortal River", What the Nile Says About Egypt?”, CNN Photos - USA
2014: Le Monde, “En Grande-Bretagne, les associations s’inquiètent du retour de la faim” - France
2014: Time Lightbox, “Striking Photos Blend Far Flung Locations” (March 28, 2014) - USA
2013: Eyemazing, The New Collectible Art Photography, published by Thames & Hudson
2013: New Yorker Magazine, “Photographs From Cairo: Amid the Chaos” (November 11, 2013)
2013: National Geographic, 125th Anniversary Collector's Edition (October 2013)
2013: OjodePez, PHE Award 2013
2013: Le Monde, "Egypte: jours de haine et de sang" - France (August 21, 2013)
2013: Le Monde, “En Egypte, "même la mort est humiliante" – France (August 16, 2013)
2013: Marie Claire Italy, “The Veil”2013 Global Post, “Egyptian Christians Losing Sense of Home”

 

 

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WRITING

2017: Book Review: Carolle Benitah "Photos-Souvenirs", Source Photographic Review (April 2017)
2017: Book Review: Valentina Abenavoli "Anaesthesia", PHMuseum (March 21, 2017)
2016: Book Review: Amak Mahmoodian "Shenasnameh, PHMuseum (October 25, 2016) - USA
2016: The Night Mubarak Stepped Down, Time Lightbox (February 11, 2016) - USA
2015: Book Review: Cyril Costilhes "Grand Circle Diego", Photo-Eye (September 29, 2015) - USA
2015: Portraits of Strength, National Geographic Magazine (March 6, 2015) - USA

 

 

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TEACHING 

2017: Fiebre Photobook Festival - Madrid, Spain
2016: Non-Fiction Visual Storytelling – Kathmandu, Nepal
2015: Long Form Photo Projects, where the personal & the general become one – GPP, Dubai, UAE
2015: Photographing Juxtapositions – Reminders Photography Stronghold, Tokyo, Japan
2013: Photographic Storytelling – Contemporary Image Collective (CIC), Cairo, Egypt
2013: Photojournalism & Street Photography – Contemporary Image Collective (CIC), Cairo, Egypt

 

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TALKS

2017: La Nuu Photofestival - Rubi, Spain
2017: Unseen Living Room, Unseen Festival - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2017: Photo Symposium Asia - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2016: What Are the Conditions of Producing a Political Image Today? Le Bal - Paris, France
2016: Non-Fiction Stroytelling - Kathmandu, Nepal
2016: Gazebook Photofestival - Punta Secca, Sicily, Italy
2016: Contemporary Image Collective - Cairo, Egypt
2016: LCC Festival of Journalism & Art - London, UK
2016: Riots & Identity, Le Boudoir 2.0 - Les Recontres d'Arles - Arles, France
2016: Conversation with Max Houghton, The Photographer's Gallery - London, UK
2016: London College of Communication – London, UK
2016: Photo Forum – London, UK
2015: Keynote Speaker High Point University, “Women & Gender Symposium” – North Carolina, USA
2015: Fotobook Festival – Kassel, Germany
2015: DokFoto – Oslo, Norway
2014: IC Visual Lab – Bristol, UK
2014: FotoIstanbul – Istanbul, Turkey
2013: Gulf Photo Plus – Dubai, UAE
2012: Third Floor Gallery – Cardiff, Wales