 Photo credits: Mohsen Ben Cheikh As a documentary photographer, Sophia Baraket worked on various themes, with the vision to document a story or History, like in her “Childhood Mothers” project in Uganda, a collection of stories of children becoming themselves mothers that was showcased at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2014. Or another project, "les faires-ailleurs", documenting and exhibiting the journey of waste coming western world on the shores of North Africa. A project selected in 2011 by the Bamako’s African Photography Biennale, a major artistic event on the African continent.
After studying in Paris, where she took her first steps in the shadow of the famous photo reporters operating at Agence Magnum, Sophia returned to Tunis where she settled. Sophia was constantly standing at the forefront of social events shaking her region, documenting and revealing, without taboos, societal mutations in Tunisia and elsewhere. Sophia (may she rest in peace) passed away on July, 18th 2018 in Tunisia. We are very saddened by the news and want to offer our sincere condolences to her family and friends. Sophia was one of the most talented photographer in Tunisia and in the region; her work transcends boundaries and is recognized by her peers. Upon discussion with her family, we would like to take the opportunity to pay a tribute to Sophia. This is why a room in the exhibit will be entirely dedicated to her work and career.
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 Born 19th December, 1990 in Uganda, originally from Rwanda, Wandulu is a multi-disciplinary self taught visual artist. A full time practicing artist since 2009, a tutor and facilitator since 2014 and practicing furniture design with interest in architecture. His arts practice ranges from visual arts to performances and installations with experience from coordinating and facilitating arts projects, participating in local and international artist workshops, leadership, education and facilitation workshops, artist residencies & exhibitions. These experiences have influenced his role and growth as an Artist.
 Photo credits: Birgit Fostervold RUGANZU BRUNO TUSINGWIRE is a multi-media artist known predominantly for his work intercepting the waste stream and recycled playgrounds. His practice is about transforming waste into functional installations and shifting mindsets from consumers to producers. He was born in Kabale in 1982 and grew up in rural setting before moving to Kampala, Uganda´s Capital for studies where he was met with the massive waste that inspires his art. Ruganzu holds a Masters in Pedagogy (M.A.) from OsloMET University in Norway and a Bachelors in Art and industrial design from Kyambogo University. He is a lecturer at the Department of Art and Design where he teaches Sculpture and Painting in Kampala, Uganda where he lives. He has been Artist in residence MS TCDC in Arusha, Tanzania 2018(May-June) , Fabrikken Kunst in Denmark in 2017, Installed UbuntuNest at Seoul international Hand Made Fair in South Korea 2017 and Environmental Artist in Residence at McColl Center of Art and Innovation, North Carolina – USA.
Also he is founding artist of Ecoart Uganda, an international collective of artists, designers and architects who also work with plastic debris and environmental awareness. Ruganzu's work has been featured on CNN, The CREAVIT, Inhabitat, The GOOD, National Geographical, The Independent among others. Ruganzu Bruno is also the founding curator of TEDxKampala and the winner of the the first City 2.0 Award in 2012 as well as UbuntuTalks- a platform dedicated to celebrating African ideas to action approach. As eco-artist from Uganda committed to creating environments which support healthy childhoods. He is transforming space, waste and environment by creating playground elements around the world utilizing salvaged waste. Ruganzu has been a member of jury for the RAID Awards 2015. Ruganzu also leads creative and entrepreneur workshops, works with students, teachers and residents leading experiences which provide experiential learning opportunities on utilizing salvaged materials to create learning experiences, business innovation and art He also is the recipient 2011 Young Achievers Award (Art, Fashion and Culture), 2011 Planet Women Photography Competition(Uganda) winner, Rio+20 Plasticity, International competition (Capturing Gold category) award 2012. The Ecoart Playgrounds project took second place invisibleAwards2015.  Ruth Zehntner is an architect, illustrator and general maker-of-things from Ciudad Juárez. Currently she lives in Guadalajara, Mexico. Ruth will showcase her project “Edificios de Juárez”, a series of illustrations depicting some of the most iconic buildings in the border town of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
 Zaahirah is a passionate Artist Activist hailing from Mauritius. As a person who aspires to bring about positive changes in the society, she conveys a strong message of empowerment through her art and artistic initiatives. 2018, has been roaring success for the artist. Zaahirah's magnificent artworks garnered loads of attention, she was lauded and awarded for her arts and her various initiatives. she was awarded ‘The Leonardo Da Vinci- Universal Artist Award in Florence- Italy’ followed by the ‘Femina- Women International Leadership Award’ in the artist category in February in Mumbai, India.
She was also nominated for the ‘Global Art Award’ in painting category in November 2017; "Artist of the Year 2016" at the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival. She also won the ‘Youth Excellence Award’ in the Leadership Category and the "Oscar de la Jeunesse 2001” in Artistic Pursuit by the Government of Mauritius. As a Toastmaster, she has been featured in the book 101 Artists Toastmaster distributed worldwide. Zaahirah has been exhibiting in various countries, predominantly Africa, Europe and Middle-East. Zaahirah is the curator for World Art Dubai, an international art fair presenting over 400 artists; she has curated over 25 art exhibition, most recently she curated the International Women Art Exhibition under the theme "Press For Progress" where 80 women artists representing 80 countries participated. As an art activist. Zaahirah is the founder of ZeeArts, an art hub that provide art consultancy solution, curatorship and connect artists to create community and celebrates art. She has been the master mind behind an array of artistic and community initiatives. Art is an essential constituent of Zaahirah’s life; it is a paramount journey that crafted her personality. She is who she is today because she heard and adhered to the music of the brushes and colors.  Dina Benbrahim is an Arab multidisciplinary artist and a creative in advertising with a 4+ years copywriting experience. Her body of work is primarily interested in the role of society, being an industry of manipulation, and the way it affects women’s lives. Her goal is to create mindful and authentic narratives to empower Arab women.
One of her best projects is the campaign, Flawlessness, with J. Walter Thompson Casablanca for Enti; a campaign against domestic violence, in Morocco, that received a total of 16 awards. Dina graduated with a B.B.A. in Marketing, studied Arts and Social Sciences, earned a Master’s Degree in Marketing and Communication, and is now pursuing her M.F.A. in Graphic Design while teaching at the University of Florida.  Amine Landoulsi, born in 1976, in Tunisia, is a self-taught photographer. His career began after the Arab Spring, he covered the news of Tunisia in perpetual change with a shifted approach, which enabled him to provide an important photojournalists work following an important photographic request of Tunisia to the international press. Former freelance photographer of "AP" (Associated Press) 2011/2012 and photographer reporter on behalf of "Turkish Press Agency" 2012/2017 , not forgetting his position as co-founder and general coordinator of the Club Photo of Tunis for the year 2010/2011. To his credit, there are several collective exhibitions in Tunisia but also in France, the United States, Slovenia, Italy and Brazil. He was selected for the Biennial of Photographers of the Contemporary Arab World in November 2015 which was held at the IMA in Paris,
in France. Since July 2017, he has regained his status as an independent photographer and in parallel to the press reports, Amine Landoulsi has embarked on the realization of personal works.  Photo credits: Anthony Micallef Merieme Mesfioui is a Moroccan illustrator, graphic designer and comic author based in France. By combining traditional moroccan patterns and elements from islamic art with graphic design and an erotic touch, she is seeking more freedom for women in the MENA (Middle-Eastern, North African) world, her strong erotic art expresses female empowerment and promotes lgbt + community’s rights as an ally.
After obtaining a BA in graphic design and retail design at ENSAAMA Olivier de Serres in Paris, Merieme spent one year studying illustration and comics at Lycée d'Arts Appliqués Auguste Renoir before getting a Master Degree specialized in comics at EESI- Angoulême Fine Arts School. She has been working independently since 2015. She is also the co-founder of SPIN OFF, an underground comics and zines festival based in Angoulême, France.  Mwarv is a Kenyan photographer and filmmaker who is using lenses to change perceptions about Africa. For more than 10 years now, Mwarv has been documenting the cultures and beauty of the continent he's proud to call home, shifting perceptions from the common narrative about Africa being a dark continent, into the reality of it being the bright hope for a darkening world.
 Salim Zerrouki studied arts in Algiers before settling in Tunisia. In another life, Selim worked as an art director in the advertising industry. To make himself feel better about it, Salim funny
In 2011, he started a caricature blog, “Yahyia Boulahia”. He took part in “Printemps des Arts” in 2012 in Tunis with a controversial art piece entitled “The bearded Superman”. In 2014, he started a new project, “Ta7richa”, that got very successful quicker than he expected. “Ta7richa” was showcased in 2016 and it is since then that Salim dedicated all his time and energy to his artistic career. He published his first satyirical comic book in March 2018 entitled “Comment se débarrasser de nous pour un monde meilleur” (“How to get rid of us for a better world”). In a nutshell, Salim describes himself as “a kid with means”. |