Today we’d like to introduce you to Zizi Shalabi.
Zizi, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Since a young age I was intrigued by cameras, I would take many pictures of everything around me with no real skill. After graduating High School, I attended Texas Woman’s University and majored in Fine Arts. In the process I learned how to use film cameras and digital cameras. I found an interest in taking shots that connect to the viewer, to tell a story. I have three types of work that I focus on my Palestinian American heritage, connection and commission / Volunteer work.
Exampling the types of work:
Palestinian Heritage Work: My work explores ideas of belonging, identity, and culture. As a Palestinian American artist, I capture photos in search of a sense of belonging and purpose. In my photographs, I strive to capture the complex experience of being a woman in two completely different cultures. As a designer, my work is mostly photography and including graphic design elements. I make photographic portraits that reflect cultural values using patterns, embroideries, and embellishments from my Palestinian heritage. The image that is captured is then manipulated, embellished, and enhanced, to make it a little more personal and create understanding of my cultural roots.
Connection Work: Connection is about intimacy and allowing yourself and others to lower their guard and feel. The work is about allowing yourself to feel so strongly & capturing those emotions. When it comes to these types of projects, I usually love working with strangers or people I know little about. They come to the shoot unaware of the outcome with objects on table for them to pick from or words on the wall to stand in front of. All I do is provide the elements I want in the shoot and take images of people coming in and out of my lens. They are creating the outcome and I just capture it.
Commission / Volunteer Work: This work is capturing people’s accomplishments and milestones. Events like graduations, proposals, engagements, birthdays, firstborn and many more. For this type of work, I suggest locations that I believe will be perfect for the customer’s style. Usually, about 500-1000 images are taken to allow the customer to pick their top images and then those will be edited. Each customer has a different expectation on the type of images they would like and that is why it is helpful to have so many.
I have been able to volunteer my time to amazing organizations like AACS (American Arab Culture Society) to help boost membership rates and also create geofilters for their events.
Has it been a smooth road?
As an artist I like to stay true to myself and work, so with that comes some bumps in the road but I can 100% feel confident in it because it was taken with passion. My clients come to me for my style and that’s what I’m going to offer.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I have been lucky with how everything has worked out for me as an artist & I am grateful. Gaining work experience from clients, volunteers and business owners has helped with building a portfolio. Local businesses were willing to lend a hand like Aura Tea And Hookah located in Rockwall & Sky Rise located in Mesquite. Along the way organizations have allowed me to use my talent to help them create content like FCCLA (family, career & community leaders of america) and AACS (the Arab American culture society) and Darzah.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Dallas has been an amazing place for my type of art. I have been able to meet very accepting and supportive people that enjoy the content/art that I create. Also, with a city like Dallas I’m able to meet other artists with the same style as me but also people with creative work I wouldn’t have ever imagined. For my images, Dallas is such a beautiful place to take pictures that a person can find a place for any of their subjects.”
Contact Info:
- Email: aziahshalabi@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zzshalabi/?hl=en
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/zizishalabi
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zizi-shalabi-99608a173/
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
