Tasneem Alsultan

Tasneem Alsultan is an investigative photographer and visual storyteller. Her work offers intimate and unique perspectives into the everyday lives of her subjects and largely focuses on documenting social issues and rights-based topics in Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf region through a gender lens, challenging stereotypical perceptions of the Middle East and portraying a region and people that do not conform to expectations. Covering stories primarily for The New York Times and National Geographic, Alsultan documents ground-breaking developments in Saudi and the surrounding region.

Having focused her research on anthropological studies of Saudi women, Tasneem holds a bachelor’s degree English Literature and Linguistics from King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi, and a master’s degree in social linguistics from Portland State University, United States.

In 2015, Alsultan was selected as one of the ten recipients of the Arab Fund for Art and Culture (AFAC) from the Prince Claus Fund, in partnership with Magnum Foundation. After this, Alsultan began working on her project Saudi Tales of Love which was published in Time’s Lightbox, and later exhibited in Paris Photo, PhotoKathmandu, and Visa Pour L’Image in Perpignan in 2016. 

In 2016, Tasneem was selected by the British Journal of Photography as among the best 16 emerging photographers to watch, and PDN’s 30 photographers to watch in 2017. She was a finalist in the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, and soon after joined Rawiya, the first all-female photography collective from the Middle East. In 2018, Tasneem joined the Canon Ambassador program as the program’s first Arab female photographer and was selected as one of the 12 participants of World Press Photo’s Joop Swart Masterclass. Following this, in 2019, Tasneem was selected as a recipient of the Catchlight Fellowship in order to continue her work on Saudi women, and received honorable mention for the Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award.


World Press Photo Involvement:
2022 World Press Photo Contest jury member
2018 Joop Swart Masterclass participant 
6x6 Global Talent Program nominator

Tasneem Alsultan on Social Media: 
Instagram: @tasneemalsultan
Twitter: @tasneemalsultan