DUBAI: National Geographic Abu Dhabi (NGAD) launched the latest season of “I am a Nat Geo Photographer” last night. The four-part reality show pits four amateur photographers from the region against each other as they strive to capture a shot worthy of publication in “National Geographic Al Arabiya” magazine. The 2018 season is based in the United Arab Emirates.
Emirati artist Obaid Al Budoor, Saudi Hesham Al Humaid — a Dammam-based health-management technician, Lebanese artist Cynthia Ghousoub, and Egyptian freelance photographer Amina Sabry will face off in a series of challenges throughout the show.
The winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Tanzania worth over $10,000, during which they will receive guidance from Nat Geo experts, in addition to $7,500 worth of Nikon equipment.
Saudi media personality Tariq Edrees hosts the show, and main judge Marwa Abu Laila — founder of Photobia and publisher of “Photo Egypt — is joined on the judging panel by award-winning Saudi Nat Geo photographer Tasneem Sultan; Iraqi photographer Mohamed Al Daou, head of research and development at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award; Red Bull photographer Naim Chidiac; and photojournalist Jack Dabaghian. Each episode will also feature celebrity guests, including martial arts expert Rio Altaie, fashion designer Faissal El-Malak and Los Angeles-trained actor Deepak Venugopal.
Al Humaid is, understandably, thrilled to be taking part. “To be a National Geographic photographer is a huge thing,” he said in a statement. “It’s a dream for me. A NatGeo photographer, in my view, has unique characteristics; he is a person that can handle tough circumstances and can adapt to any situation.”
He believes his “love for adventure” will be a benefit, but admitted: “My weakness is my shyness, which limits my abilities.”
Appearing in front of, potentially, millions on a pan-Arab TV show should help cure that.
Shooting for the big time: Regional snappers in Nat Geo photography show
Shooting for the big time: Regional snappers in Nat Geo photography show
Art Cairo part of a ‘long-term cultural project,’ founder says
CAIRO: As Art Cairo 2026 draws to a close, its founder Mohammed Younis is keen to set the fair apart from its regional counterparts — and also asserts that the annual event is part of a “long-term cultural project.”
The fair, which took place at the Grand Egyptian Museum and wrapped up on Jan. 26, boasted a distinctly Arab flavor, in terms of galleries, artists and the themes of the artworks on show.
Younis says that is all part of a conscious curatorial effort.
“Art Cairo stands apart from other art fairs in the region as the only platform dedicated exclusively and intentionally to Arab art … While many regional fairs present a broad, globalized perspective, Art Cairo emerges from a different vision — one rooted in presenting Arab art from within,” Younis told Arab News.
Across the fair, depictions of golden age icons such as 1950s superstar Mohamed Mohamed Fawzy by painter Adel El-Siwi jostled for attention alongside ancient iconography and pop culture references from the Arab world.
Abu Dhabi’s Salwa Zeidan Gallery, for example, exhibited work by up-and-coming Egyptian artist Passant Kirdy.
“My work focuses on Egyptian heritage in general, including pharaonic and Islamic art. These influences are always present in what I create. This symbol you’re looking at is a pharaonic scarab … I’m very attached to this symbol,” she told Arab News.
The Arab focus of the curation is part of an effort to bill Art Cairo as a “long-term cultural project,” Younis noted.
“Ultimately, Art Cairo is not simply an art fair; it is a long-term cultural project. It exists to support Arab artists, contribute to building a sustainable art market, and articulate an authentic Arab narrative within the regional and international art landscape.”
