Born in Cairo, to a German mother and an Egyptian father, I was raised in an international community speaking English, German, Arabic and French. Growing up between worlds sparked a curiosity to cultivate relationships that would allow me to tell stories visually. It helped me engage better with social issues, leading me to pursue studies in journalism, mass media and visual anthropology.
For over a decade, I have worked professionally as an independent documentary photographer and photojournalist, with full time experience in photo editing, communications and teaching. My work has been published in international newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times, TIME Magazine, Der Spiegel, The Guardian and Smithsonian Magazine. I have worked internationally in newsrooms, with nonprofit organisations, humanitarian NGOs and startups.
I am based between Cairo and Berlin, available for assignment worldwide.
contact@christinarizk.com
Commissions & Publication
The New York Times TIME Magazine
Smithsonian Magazine The Financial Times Weekend Magazine
Newsweek Magazine Travel & Leisure Magazine
NÉON Magazine L'Obs Magazine
Monopol Magazine Brownbook Magazine
brand Eins Magazin Bloomberg Businessweek
Zenith Magazin The New York Times Lens Blog
Frankfurter Allgemeine NRC Handelsblad
Die Zeit Bild
Neue Zürcher Zeitung Spiegel online
Internazionale Le Figaro
The Washington Post The Financial Times
The Guardian The Christian Science Monitor
The National CNN/ CNN Travel/ CNN Arabic
Mada Masr Daily News Egypt
Yorokobu Huck Magazine
Al Hayat
Médecins Sans Frontières | Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
German Development Organization in Egypt (GIZ)
Red Sea Marine & Land Conservation (HEPCA)
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
Youth Empowerment Through Education in Egypt (INJAZ)
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
The Drosos Foundation
Memberships & Contribution
‣ Women Photograph is a non-profit launched in 2017 to elevate the voices of independent women visual journalists
‣ Frontline Freelance Register (FFR) is a representative body for freelance journalists, created for and run by freelancers.
‣ The African Photojournalism Database (APJD) is a directory of emerging and professional African visual journalists.
It is a joint project between World Press Photo and Everyday Africa.
‣ Contributor at The Mosireen Collective 858.ma Archive of Resistance/ Egyptian revolution film archive
‣ The Everyday Projects @everydayafrica & @everydaymiddleeast & @everydayegypt
Instagram feeds by photographers living and working in the Middle East and North Africa.
The purpose of these projects is to break stereotypes prevalent of the region by displaying images of daily life.
The EverydayAfrica Book (2017) a collection of images photographed across the continent in an attempt to re-direct focus towards a more accurate understanding of what the majority of Africans experience on a day-to-day basis: normal life. Featuring thirty contributing photographers, the project is a response to the common media portrayal of the African continent as a place consumed by war, poverty, and disease. As journalists who are native to Africa or have lived and worked on the continent for extended periods of time, we find the extreme not nearly as prevalent as the familiar, the everyday.
Exhibitions, Workshops & Recognition
2018
Lumix Photo Festival Group Exhibition (Hanover, Germany)
Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojouralism Award semi-finalist
New York Times Portfolio Review Nominee (New York City)
Gulf Photo Plus Grant Nominee (Dubai)
The Native & The Everyday Projects inaugural mentorship program
2017
Obscura Festival of Photography - Projection of "Coptic Christening” George Town, Malaysia
Everyday Africa Book publication/ launch
Everyday Egypt Group Exhibition, Beit el Sura, Cairo, Egypt
LianzhouFoto Group Exhibition, Lianzhou, China
The Square, Uganda Press Photo Awards Group Exhibition, Kampala, Uganda
Alliance Francais Group Exhibition, Nairobi, Kenya
2016
AddisFotoFest Group Exhibition, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Just Another Photo Festival Group Exhibition, Delhi, India
FotoIstanbul Group Exhibition, Istanbul, Turkey
BredaPhoto Group Exhibition, Breda, The Netherlands
Obscura Festival of Photography Group Exhibition, George Town, Malaysia LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph Group Exhibition, Charlottesville, USA Rencontres des Fes Group Exhibition, Fes, Morocco
2015
Middle East Now Festival, Everyday Middle East exhibition at ETRA – Galleria Studio Tommasi, Florence, Italy
Just Another Photo Festival Group Exhibition, Delhi, India
FotoIstanbul Group Exhibition, Istanbul, Turkey
Viral: Photography in the Age of Social Media, Alison Richard Building, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England
2010
Warehouse Gallery Group Exhibition, The Pyramid in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. 100 Prints by 10 Visual Storytellers; Photography and Mixed Media