Maryam ASHRAFI
Maryam Ashrafi
LE PRE ST GERVAIS, France
Maryam Ashrafi is a Paris-based Iranian photographer. Born in Tehran in 1982 during Iran and Iraq war, Maryam is impassioned for sociology which led her to focus her interest in social and socio-political issues in countries around the world.
Graduated with a BA in social documentary photography from the University of Wales Newport in England, she began to explore these issues, focusing in particular on the situation of Kurds. For several years, she has been working on different subjects: refugees in Paris, mobilization of the Kurdish and Iranian diasporas and the Indignants Movement in Paris. Above all, as a freelance independent photographer, she has covered the aftermath of wars from Kobane in Northern Syria to Sinjar in Iraqi Kurdistan, until 2018. Her work on Kurdish resistance movements has been the subject of several exhibitions and publications, including the Guardian.
Her first book; “ Rising among ruins, Dancing amid bullets”, which has won the PrixHip in Reportage & history category, was published by Hemeria, a French publisher in October 2021, documenting the consequences of war and the lives of civilians returning to their homes in Northern Syria and the autonomous Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq.
“ Rising Among Ruins, Dancing Amid Bullets is a photographic project I have been working on since 2012 in Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan, to bear witness to the consequences of war, namely to the lives of civilians returning to their homes after their cities are liberated, as well as to the daily life of the fighters behind the front lines while emphasising the role of women in their ranks. ” — Maryam Ashrafi
Her long-term work on Kurdish issues has also driven her to work as a camerawoman in documentaries such as “I Am The Revolution” and her first documentary film; “Eternal Sentinel” will be released in early 2022.
Solo Exhibitions
Abbay aux Dames- Caen, France 2022
Ville de Nogent sur seine- France 2018
Mairie 15em-Paris, France 2016
The International House of Rennes​, France 2016
A night with Rojava- London, UK 2016
Aux grands voisins- Paris, France 2016
Group exhibitions
Analix Forever Gallery- Geneva, Switzerland- 2022
Bayeux Normandy-Calvados Award of war correspondents, France 2021
Taalaar Space- Tehran, Iran 2021
Bronx Documentary Center- New York 2018
The Guardian News & Media- London 2017
The War Zone Freelance Exhibition – Brussels 2016
The Tbilisi Photo Festival- Tbilisi 2016
The Museum of Military History- Austria 2016
Hinterland Gallery- Vienna 2015
Angkor Photo Festival- Cambodia 2015
International Women conference at SOAS University- London 2015
Graduated with a BA in social documentary photography from the University of Wales Newport in England, she began to explore these issues, focusing in particular on the situation of Kurds. For several years, she has been working on different subjects: refugees in Paris, mobilization of the Kurdish and Iranian diasporas and the Indignants Movement in Paris. Above all, as a freelance independent photographer, she has covered the aftermath of wars from Kobane in Northern Syria to Sinjar in Iraqi Kurdistan, until 2018. Her work on Kurdish resistance movements has been the subject of several exhibitions and publications, including the Guardian.
Her first book; “ Rising among ruins, Dancing amid bullets”, which has won the PrixHip in Reportage & history category, was published by Hemeria, a French publisher in October 2021, documenting the consequences of war and the lives of civilians returning to their homes in Northern Syria and the autonomous Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq.
“ Rising Among Ruins, Dancing Amid Bullets is a photographic project I have been working on since 2012 in Iraqi and Syrian Kurdistan, to bear witness to the consequences of war, namely to the lives of civilians returning to their homes after their cities are liberated, as well as to the daily life of the fighters behind the front lines while emphasising the role of women in their ranks. ” — Maryam Ashrafi
Her long-term work on Kurdish issues has also driven her to work as a camerawoman in documentaries such as “I Am The Revolution” and her first documentary film; “Eternal Sentinel” will be released in early 2022.
Solo Exhibitions
Abbay aux Dames- Caen, France 2022
Ville de Nogent sur seine- France 2018
Mairie 15em-Paris, France 2016
The International House of Rennes​, France 2016
A night with Rojava- London, UK 2016
Aux grands voisins- Paris, France 2016
Group exhibitions
Analix Forever Gallery- Geneva, Switzerland- 2022
Bayeux Normandy-Calvados Award of war correspondents, France 2021
Taalaar Space- Tehran, Iran 2021
Bronx Documentary Center- New York 2018
The Guardian News & Media- London 2017
The War Zone Freelance Exhibition – Brussels 2016
The Tbilisi Photo Festival- Tbilisi 2016
The Museum of Military History- Austria 2016
Hinterland Gallery- Vienna 2015
Angkor Photo Festival- Cambodia 2015
International Women conference at SOAS University- London 2015
Parcours professionnel
janvier 2022
- aujourd'hui