Shaima Al-Tamimi is a Yemeni-Kenyan visual storyteller based in the GCC. Her work explores themes such as migration, identity, and social justice through introspection and a deeply-rooted documentary approach.
Challenging mainstream and linear notions of identity, her work aims to offer a more nuanced understanding of native experiences.
Shaima is a 2020 Social Justice & Photography fellow with Magnum Foundation, which resulted in her directorial debut of “Don’t get too comfortable”. The project was also a recipient of a grant from Doha Film Institute and participated in Qumra 2021 industry lab.
She is a former participant of the Arab Documentary Photography program through which she completed her project “As if we never came”in 2019.
She was also one of the forces behind the 2020 “Prints For Yemen” sale with “Inti Bint”, collaborating with 14 Yemeni Female artists to raise funds for farmer families to grow crops sustainably in the rural parts of Yemen.
Her previous works has screened at festivals and art galleries in New York, Madrid, Spain, Sarajevo, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. Shaima has also been featured in Gulf Photo Plus, HypeBeast Art, Art 29, JDEED Magazine, Khaleejesque Magazine, CNN and Doha News. Shaima is also a long term contributing member to Everyday Middle East.
