{{Infobox person | native_name = سمر حزبون | native_name_lang = ar | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = 1985<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.arabsart.com/inp/view.asp?ID=90|title=سمر حزبون تطلق خيالها في معرض فوتوغراف|work=Al-Zaqura|date=26 August 2008|accessdate=17 July 2025|lang=ar}}</ref> | birth_place = Jerusalem | alma_mater = {{Plainlist| * Metropolitan University Prague * University of Westminster }} | occupation = | years_active = 2008–present | family = Nadya Hazboun (sister) | website = }} '''Samar Hazboun''' ({{langx|ar|سمر حزبون}}; born 1985) is a Palestinian photographer and photojournalist from Bethlehem.
==Early life and education== Hazboun was born in Jerusalem<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://voices.actionaid.org.uk/women-by-women-samar|title=Women by Women: Samar Hazboun, West Bank|work=Action Aid|accessdate=28 March 2024|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328081040/https://voices.actionaid.org.uk/women-by-women-samar/|archive-date=28 March 2024}}</ref> and grew up in Bethlehem. Her sisters include Nadya, a jewellery and fashion designer,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/ICSR_Atkin_Paper_Series_Jana_Boulus1.pdf|title=An Artistic Intifada: Young Palestinian Women's Non-Violent Resistance through Art|work=The Atkin Paper Series|first=Jana|last=Boulus|date=November 2015|accessdate=29 July 2025}}</ref> and Christina, who writes and works in music. During her childhood, Hazboun's father was detained by the IDF for two years.<ref name="osun oct 24">{{Cite web|url=https://opensocietyuniversitynetwork.org/newsroom/describing-the-indescribable-to-benamed-palestine-exhibit-focuses-on-grieving-and-survival-2024-10-29|title=Describing the Indescribable: To Be–Named: Palestine Exhibit Focuses on Grieving and Survival|work=Open Society University Network|date=29 October 2024|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref>
At age 16, Hazboun left Palestine to study abroad. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in International Relations from Metropolitan University Prague and a Master of Arts (MA) in Photojournalism from the University of Westminster.<ref name="ipa hush">{{Cite web|url=https://photoawards.com/winner/zoom.php?eid=8-45322-12|title='Hush' - Gender Based Violence in Palestine|work=International Photography Awards|accessdate=28 March 2024}}</ref>
==Career== In 2008, Hazboun debuted her ''Obsessive Fantasy'' exhibition in Amman.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alquds.co.uk/سمر-حزبون-في-معرضها-خيال-استحواذي-إفر/|title=سمر حزبون في معرضها 'خيال استحواذي': إفراط في الرمزية سعيا لإعادة اكتشاف الخيال فوتوغرافيا..|work=Al-Quds|date=28 September 2008|accessdate=28 March 2024|lang=ar}}</ref>
Hazboun started working on her project ''Hush'' in 2010,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mashallahnews.com/giving-a-voice-to-those-who-lost-it/|title=Giving a voice to those who lost it|work=Mashallah News|first=Micheline|last=Tobia|date=31 October 2011|accessdate=28 March 2024}}</ref> for which she gathered true stories from Palestinian women at a domestic/gender-based violence shelter, hoping to "end the silence". After completing her MA in London in 2011,<ref name="ipa hush"/> Hazboun started exhibiting the project,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2012/05/life-in-a-womens-shelter-in-palestine-q-a-with-samar-hazboun/|title=Life In A Women's Shelter In Palestine: Q & A With Samar Hazboun|work=Patheos|date=23 May 2012|accessdate=28 March 2024}}</ref> which included a short documentary. She also published it on the platform Firecracker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/18449/1/last-shot-samar-hazboun|title=Last Shot: Samar Hazboun|work=Dazed|first=Trey|last=Taylor|date=21 January 2014|accessdate=28 March 2024}}</ref> ''Hush'' came second in the I Have Something to Say competition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2012/05/life-in-a-womens-shelter-in-palestine-q-a-with-samar-hazboun/|title=Life In A Women's Shelter In Palestine: Q & A With Samar Hazboun|work=Patheos|first=Arwa|last=Aburawa|date=23 May 2012|accessdate=28 March 2024}}</ref>
This was followed by Hazboun's 2012 photo essay ''Detained: Confessions of Palestinian children detained by Israel''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mashallahnews.com/detained-confessions-of-palestinian-children/|title=Detained: Confessions of Palestinian children|work=Mashallah News|first=Samar|last=Hazboun|date=1 December 2012|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref> It became the seventh most read article of 2013 in ''+972 Magazine''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.972mag.com/ten-most-read-posts-of-2013/|title=Ten most-read posts of 2013|work=+972 Magazine|date=20 December 2013|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref>
With support from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) and the Magnum Foundation under the Arab Documentary Photography Program (ADPP),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arabculturefund.org/data/resources/28.pdf|title=Arab Creativity and Entrepreneurship Fund 2014|work=Arab Fund for Arts and Culture|date=2014|accessdate=28 March 2024|page=54}}</ref> Hazboun started research for her photography series ''Beyond Checkpoints'' in January 2024. The series photographs consist of objects invoking 18 stories from Palestinian women who were forced to give birth at checkpoints in the early 2000s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esquerda.net/artigo/mulheres-fotografas-na-palestina-iii-samar-hazboun/52442|title=Mulheres Fotógrafas na Palestina III: Samar Hazboun|work=Esquerda|first=Sofia|last=Roque|date=16 December 2017|accessdate=17 July 2025|lang=es}}</ref> As part of the ADPP, Hazboun was one of four photographers featured in the 2015 ''Memory for Forgetfulness'' exhibition at the Athr Gallery in Jeddah alongside Natalie Naccache, Omar Imam and Reem Falaknaz. The exhibition showcased 11 of Hazboun's pieces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/135972|title='Memory For Forgetfulness' at Athr Gallery|work=Saudi Gazette|first=Shahd|last=Alhamdan|date=16 September 2015|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref>
Over the course of four years, Hazboun worked for Agence France-Presse<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/through-the-lens-of-a-palestinian-photojournalist/articleshow/117493017.cms|title=Through The Lens Of A Palestinian Photojournalist|work=Times of India|first=Asha|last=Prakash|date=23 January 2025|accessdate=9 April 2025}}</ref> as a Middle East editor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blog.andromak.com/shattering-silence-samar-hazbouns-photographic-crusade-against-gender-based-violence-in-palestine/|title=Shattering Silence: Samar Hazboun's Photographic Crusade Against Gender-Based Violence in Palestine|work=Andromak|first=Patrick|last=Hubbard|date=7 April 2025|accessdate=9 April 2025}}</ref> She shared her documentary photography with publications such as ''The New York Times'' and ''The Intercept''.<ref name="1854 aug 24">{{Cite web|url=https://www.1854.photography/2024/08/three-photographers-in-palestine/|title="I'd like to ask the world for curiosity and action": The lives of three photographers in Palestine|work=British Journal of Photography|first=Philippa|last=Kelly|date=26 August 2024|accessdate=25 November 2024}}</ref> A project of hers titled ''Past Preserved'' covered Syrian refugees.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=منّاع |first1=راية |url=https://www.arab48.com/فسحة/بصر/تصوير/2016/05/23/سمر-حزبون-صورةٌ-ترمّم-الذّاكرة|title=سمر حزبون... صورةٌ ترمّم الذّاكرة|work=Arab28|date=23 May 2016|accessdate=17 July 2025|lang=ar}}</ref> Hazboun's ''Self-Portrait'' won the 2018 Pollux Award at the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegalaawards.com/11th-pollux-self-portrait|title=11th Pollux - Self Portrait, Winner: Samar Hazboun|work=The Worldwide Photography Gala Awards|date=2018|accessdate=9 April 2025}}</ref> She was selected for the 2018 Joop Swart Masterclass.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.1854.photography/2018/04/announcing-the-2018-joop-swart-masterclass-participants/|title=Announcing the 2018 Joop Swart Masterclass participants|work=British Journal of Phototaphy|first=Eva|last=Clifford|date=19 April 2018|accessdate=25 November 2024}}</ref> Her photo essay ''Defining 'Christian' in Palestine'' for ''ONE Magazine'' came in Third Place at the 2019 Catholic Press Association Awards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnewa.org/magazine-of-the-year-one-wins-27-awards-from-catholic-press-association/|title='Magazine of the Year': ONE Wins 27 Awards from Catholic Press Association|work=Catholic Near East Welfare Association|date=24 June 2019|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref>
In light of the COVID-19 lockdown, Hazboun created the photography series ''Errant Doves'', inspired by the Ocean Vuong poem of the same title, which sought to depict the Palestinian LGBT+ community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/gender-and-sexuality/errant-doves-challenges-queer-palestine|title=Fight and Flight: The challenges of being queer in Palestine|work=The Caravan|first=Tanvi|last=Mishra|date=31 August 2021|accessdate=28 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902165317/https://caravanmagazine.in/gender-and-sexuality/errant-doves-challenges-queer-palestine|archive-date=2 September 2021}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="1854 aug 24"/> For ActionAid UK, Hazboun photographed women business owners in the West Bank.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://voices.actionaid.org.uk/women-by-women/2021/samar-hazboun/|title=Samar Hazboun|work=ActionAidUK|date=2021|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref> In 2022, Hazboun started the project ''Ahel El-Ard (People of the land)'', capturing the relationship between Palestinian people and their land. The project would be presented at the 2024 Image Festival Amman<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://imagefestivalamman.com/Exhibitions12.html|title=Exhibitions|work=Image Festival Amman|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref> and the 2025 Chennai Photo Biennale.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://asapconnect.in/post/828/singleevents/landscape-and-history-at-the-chennai-photo-biennale|title=Landscape and History at the Chennai Photo Biennale|author=Kshiraja|work=ASAP Art|date=15 January 2025|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chennaiphotobiennale.foundation/biennale/artists/samar-hazboun|title=Samar Hazboun|work=Chennai Photo Biennale|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref> Also in 2022, Hazboun was one of 15 featured in the exhibition ''More Than Your Eyes Can See: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World'' at the Middle East Institute.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.einpresswire.com/article/791005461/mena-photography-more-than-your-eyes-can-see|title=MENA Photography: More than your eyes can see|work=Ein Presswire|date=4 March 2025|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref>
Since 2023, Hazboun has documented life in the West Bank, particularly Gazan Palestinians seeking medical treatment in West Bank. She spoke of how travel between for assignments has become more difficult and restricted.<ref name="1854 oct 24">{{Cite web|url=https://www.1854.photography/2024/10/life-interrupted-gazans-caught-in-limbo-in-the-west-bank/|title=Life, interrupted: Gazans caught in limbo in the West Bank|work=British Journal of Photography|author-link=Dalia Al-Dujaili|first=Dalia|last=Al-Dujaili|date=7 October 2024|accessdate=25 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.photographerswithoutborders.org/podcast|title=Speaking with Samar Hazboun, Genocide in Gaza|work=Storytelling for Change|publisher=Photographers Without Borders|author=Dani Khan Da Silva|date=29 June 2021 |accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref> Hazboun's work was exhibited at the University of Greenwich in May 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/art-design/2024/05/13/slidefest-palestine-photography/|title=Palestinian photographers face struggle to expose reality of life in Gaza and West Bank|work=The National|first=Melissa|last=Geonlund|date=13 May 2024|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref> Later that year, she took part in the Bard College exhibition ''To Be – Named: Palestine'' with her photography series ''Family Archive Project'', which deals with her father's detention by the IDF and "the profound impact it had on my childhood and family".<ref name="osun oct 24"/> Along with other contributors, her credited contributions to ''ONE Magazine'' earned First and Third Place Catholic Media Awards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholicmediaassociation.org/2025-catholic-media-awards-magazine-division|title=2025 Catholic Media Awards|work=Catholic Media Association|date=2025|accessdate=17 July 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:hazboun, samar}} Category:Living people Category:1985 births Category:21st-century Palestinian photographers Category:Alumni of the University of Westminster Category:Documentary photographers Category:Palestinian photojournalists Category:Palestinian women photographers Category:People from Bethlehem Category:Journalists from Jerusalem Category:21st-century Palestinian journalists Category:21st-century Palestinian women journalists Category:21st-century women photographers Category:Palestinian women photojournalists