# Sima Diab

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sima_Diab
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sima_Diab.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sima_Diab
> Source revision: 1325806967
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Syrian-American photographer, born 1979}}

{{Infobox person
| name                      = Sima Diab
| image                     =
| image_size                =
| caption                   =
| birth_name                =
| birth_date                = {{Birth date|1979|11|01|df=yes}}
| birth_place               = [Damascus](/source/Damascus), Syria
| death_date                =
| death_place               =
| body_discovered           =
| death_cause               =
| resting_place             =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| nationality               = 
| citizenship               = USA, Syria
| other_names               =
| known_for                 = Visual documentation of social life in the Middle East and Egypt
| education                 =
| alma_mater                = [University of Texas](/source/University_of_Texas_at_Austin), US
| employer                  = [European Pressphoto Agency](/source/European_Pressphoto_Agency)
| occupation                = photojournalist, photo editor
| years_active              = since 2006, professional since 2013
| spouse                    =
| children                  =
| parents                   =
| signature                 =
| website                   = [https://www.instagram.com/sima_diab Sima Diab at Instagram]
| footnotes                 =
}}
'''Sima Diab''' (born 1 November 1979) is a [Syrian](/source/Syrian)-US-American photographer, videographer and [press photographer](/source/Photojournalism) who has portrayed the civil war in [Syria](/source/Syria).

Her career as a photographer started in 2006 and she has been a professional photographer since 2013. Her images have been published in important English-language newspapers, including ''[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times), [The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian), [The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)'' among others.

Diab was a grantee in the 2015 Arab Documentary Photography Program of the [Arab Fund for Arts and Culture](/source/Arab_Fund_for_Arts_and_Culture), supported by the [Prince Claus Fund](/source/Prince_Claus_Fund) in cooperation with the [Magnum Foundation](/source/Magnum_Foundation). In 2022, she was a grantee of the [Pulitzer Center](/source/Pulitzer_Center) and in 2024, she started as Managing Editor at the [European Pressphoto Agency](/source/European_Pressphoto_Agency) (EPA Images).

== Early life and education ==
Diab was born on 1 November 1979 in [Damascus](/source/Damascus), the capital of Syria. She was educated in the United States and Syria, returning to the Middle East permanently in 2002 after finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Communications at the [University of Texas](/source/University_of_Texas_at_Austin).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Carleton |first=Will |date=2024-09-19 |title=Industry People: Photographer Sima Diab joins EPA Images as Managing Editor |url=https://photoarchivenews.com/news/industry-people-photographer-sima-diab-joins-epa-images-as-managing-editor/ |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=Photoarchivenews |language=en-GB}}</ref> She began to travel in the [Near East](/source/Near_East) with her camera in 2006. In 2007 she settled in [Egypt](/source/Egypt) and has since been based in [Cairo](/source/Cairo) and [Beirut](/source/Beirut).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-02 |title=Sima Diab |url=https://gcjt.org/about/people/sima-diab |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=Global Center for Journalism & Trauma |language=en}}</ref>

== Professional career ==
Diab's photographs focus on daily life and social conditions in the [Arab diaspora](/source/Arab_diaspora) and the [Arab world](/source/Arab_world).<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=simadiab {{!}} Frontline Freelance Register |url=http://www.frontlinefreelance.org/member/simadiab |access-date=2016-06-28 |website=www.frontlinefreelance.org}}</ref> She has been recognised for her photographic works, considered very personal and committed, of the [Syrian Civil War](/source/Syrian_Civil_War) and of the Syrian population. 

In 2015 she began a project about refugees on the Serbo-Hungarian migratory route before [Hungary](/source/Hungary) closed its borders. She documented the refugee's urgency of finding shelter, finding a new border crossing between [Serbia](/source/Serbia) and [Croatia](/source/Croatia), their fear and the embarrassment. The pictures reveal her subjects' uncertainty and need to build another life.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Espagne |first=Institut Français |title=EXPOSICIÓN {{!}} "Caminos de exilio" |url=http://www.institutfrancais.es/prensa/exposicion-caminos-de-exilio |access-date=2016-06-28 |website=www.institutfrancais.es}}</ref> In 2016, she participated in a group exhibition titled "Caminos de Exílio" (Paths of Exile) in [Madrid](/source/Madrid), organized by the French Embassy and the [French Cultural Institute](/source/Institut_Fran%C3%A7ais) in Spain for the annual [PHotoEspaña](/source/PHotoEspa%C3%B1a) festival.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=People stand beside a photo by Syrian photographer Sima Diab during... |url=https://www.gettyimages.es/detail/fotograf%25C3%25ADa-de-noticias/people-stand-beside-a-photo-by-syrian-fotograf%25C3%25ADa-de-noticias/536014554 |access-date=2016-06-28 |website=gettyimages.es |language=}}</ref>

In 2020, she started working as guest editor of the independent media platform ''[SyriaUntold](/source/SyriaUntold)''<nowiki/>'s series on photography, SyriaInFocus.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SyriaInFocus: A Beginning {{!}} SyriaUntold {{!}} حكاية ما انحكت |url=https://syriauntold.com/2020/07/28/syriainfocus-a-beginning/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Sima Diab Archives {{!}} SyriaUntold {{!}} حكاية ما انحكت |url=https://syriauntold.com/writer/sima-diab/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |language=en-US}}</ref> As grantee of the [Pulitzer Center](/source/Pulitzer_Center) she co-published her photos about the impact of [climate change](/source/climate_change) on farmers in Egypt in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McDonnell |first=Tim |last2=Diab |first2=Sima |date=2022-10-27 |title=The Nile Delta Isn’t Ready for Climate Change |url=https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/nile-delta-isnt-ready-climate-change |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=Pulitzer Center |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McDonnell |first=Tim |last2=Diab |first2=Sima |date=2022-10-11 |title=Tech Startups Are Scrambling To Save Egypt’s Farmers From Climate Change |url=https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/tech-startups-are-scrambling-save-egypts-farmers-climate-change |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=Pulitzer Center |language=en}}</ref> In September 2023, she documented the [2023 earthquake in Morocco](/source/2023_Morocco_earthquake) for ''[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Washington Post |title=In photos: Over 2,500 dead after powerful quake rocks Morocco |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/photography/interactive/2023/morocco-earthquake-marrakesh-al-haouz-photos/ |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=Washington Post |language=en}}</ref>

Diab is a member of the [Frontline Freelance Register](/source/Frontline_Freelance_Register) and of the [National Press Photographers Association](/source/National_Press_Photographers_Association) (NPPA).<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lensculture.com/sima-diab|title=Sima Diab {{!}} LensCulture|last=LensCulture|first=Sima Diab {{!}}|website=LensCulture|access-date=2016-06-28}}</ref> She was appointed Managing Editor at European Pressphoto Agency (EPA Images) in October 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-16 |title=Sima Diab, new Managing Editor at EPA Images |url=https://www.cepic.org/post/sima-diab-announced-as-new-managing-editor-at-epa-images |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=www.cepic.org}}</ref> Her images are featured on her webpage at [Getty Images](/source/Getty_Images).<ref>{{Cite web |title=341 Sima Diab Photos & High Res Pictures - Getty Images |url=https://www.gettyimages.ae/photos/sima-diab |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=www.gettyimages.ae}}</ref>

== Awards and recognition ==
In 2015, she won American Photography's Best of Photography 2015 AP32 for her image of a Syrian boy who lost both his legs as the victim of Russian trrops bombing civilians in the Syrian Civil War.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |url=https://blink.la/u/simaphoto |title=Sima Diab – Blink |website=Blink |access-date=2016-06-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ai-ap.com/slideshow/AP/32/sima-diab/#1|title=AI-AP Slideshow|website=www.ai-ap.com|access-date=2016-06-28}}</ref> The same year, she was a grantee in the 2015 Arab Documentary Photography Program of the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC),<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Sima Diab |url=https://www.arabculturefund.org/Grantees/991 |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=www.arabculturefund.org}}</ref> supported by the Prince Claus Fund and in cooperation with the [Magnum Foundation](/source/Magnum_Foundation). During this project, she published her image "She as He" about Arab women dressing as men to avoid [sexual harassment](/source/sexual_harassment).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=She as He |url=https://www.arabculturefund.org/Projects/5775 |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=www.arabculturefund.org}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.princeclausfund.org/es/activities/new-grantees-for-the-2015-arab-documentary-photography-program.html|title=Prince Claus Fund – Activities|website=www.princeclausfund.org|access-date=2016-06-28}}</ref>

In 2016 Diab won the James Foley Award for Conflict Reporting from the Online News Association.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=AFAC Annual Report and Reflections 20216 |url=https://www.arabculturefund.org/data/resources/14.pdf |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=www.arabculturefund.org}}</ref> In December 2023 she was awarded the UNICEF Long Term Agreement Photographer Award.<ref name=":0" />

== Selected exhibitions ==

* Viral: Photography in the Age of Social Average, United Kingdom 
* EverydayClimateChange: Milan Exhibition, [Expo 2015](/source/Expo_2015) in Milan
* EverydayClimateChange: Photoville 2015, New York City
* Exhibition Chemins d'exil / Ways of exile. Institut Français Espagne 2016, Madrid<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" />
* Cairo Photo Week’s “Depth Off Field” hybrid event, 2021<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022 |title=AFAC Annual Report 2021 |url=https://www.arabculturefund.org/data/resources/110.pdf |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=arabculturefund.org}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.instagram.com/sima_diab Sima Diab – Instagram]
* [https://twitter.com/SimaDiab Sima Diab – Profile in Twitter]
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diab, Sima}}

Category:1979 births
Category:Living people
Category:21st-century American women
Category:Women photojournalists
Category:American photojournalists
Category:Syrian photographers

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sima Diab](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sima_Diab) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sima_Diab?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.