Solmaz Daryani is an Iranian documentary photographer based in Iran and the UK. She is a former grantee of the Magnum Foundation and National Geographic Society. Solmaz began her career as a documentary photographer in Iran in 2013; since 2017, she has been living in the United Kingdom.
Through her art practice, Solmaz explores the manifold relationships between people and their environments. She identifies potent locations and communities from which personal narratives emerge. She views photography as a storytelling medium, preferring to work over extended periods to understand the longitudinal impact of age and development on people and landscapes. Whether examining water scarcity or climate-driven migration, her images evoke both the present moment and the ravages.
Her long-term work, The Eyes of Earth has received multiple accolades, including the 2015 London Magnum Photos Grant, the 2020 Alexandra Boulat scholarship, the 2018 PhotogrVphy Grant, and the 2021 FotoEvidence Book Award.
She graduated from Tabriz University with a degree in computer science in 2011 and later pursued her passion for photography through self-study. She also continued her education at the Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX) in 2020.
Awards and Grants:
Through her art practice, Solmaz explores the manifold relationships between people and their environments. She identifies potent locations and communities from which personal narratives emerge. She views photography as a storytelling medium, preferring to work over extended periods to understand the longitudinal impact of age and development on people and landscapes. Whether examining water scarcity or climate-driven migration, her images evoke both the present moment and the ravages.
Her long-term work, The Eyes of Earth has received multiple accolades, including the 2015 London Magnum Photos Grant, the 2020 Alexandra Boulat scholarship, the 2018 PhotogrVphy Grant, and the 2021 FotoEvidence Book Award.
She graduated from Tabriz University with a degree in computer science in 2011 and later pursued her passion for photography through self-study. She also continued her education at the Danish School of Media and Journalism (DMJX) in 2020.
Awards and Grants:
2022: Winner: FotoEvidence W Book Award (FR)
2021: Winner: Royal Photography Society Science Photographer of the Year (GB)
2020: Award of Excellence: College Photographer of the Year (CPOY) (US)
2020: Recipient of The Alexandra Boulat scholarship from VII Academy to study at DMJX
2020: Runner-up for Marilyn Stafford Fotoreportage Grant (GB)
2019: Finalist in The IWPA Award by the International Women Photographers Association (FR)
2018: Second Place, 2018 PhotogrVphy Grant in the category of Climate
2018: Shortlisted for IWPA Award, the International Women Photographers Association (FR)
2017: Recipient of Magnum Foundation “On Religion” collaborative photography Grant (US)
2016: Recipient of IdeasTap with Magnum Photos Grant (GB)
2016: Shortlisted for D&AD Next Photographer Award (GB)
2016: Shortlisted for PDN's 30 Photographers to Watch
2015: Shortlisted for Sheed Grant (Independent Award for Documentary Photography)
2013: Tirgan Contemporary Art Prize Award (CA)
2021: Winner: Royal Photography Society Science Photographer of the Year (GB)
2020: Award of Excellence: College Photographer of the Year (CPOY) (US)
2020: Recipient of The Alexandra Boulat scholarship from VII Academy to study at DMJX
2020: Runner-up for Marilyn Stafford Fotoreportage Grant (GB)
2019: Finalist in The IWPA Award by the International Women Photographers Association (FR)
2018: Second Place, 2018 PhotogrVphy Grant in the category of Climate
2018: Shortlisted for IWPA Award, the International Women Photographers Association (FR)
2017: Recipient of Magnum Foundation “On Religion” collaborative photography Grant (US)
2016: Recipient of IdeasTap with Magnum Photos Grant (GB)
2016: Shortlisted for D&AD Next Photographer Award (GB)
2016: Shortlisted for PDN's 30 Photographers to Watch
2015: Shortlisted for Sheed Grant (Independent Award for Documentary Photography)
2013: Tirgan Contemporary Art Prize Award (CA)
Exhibitions:
2024: Water: A journey to discover how it moves the world - April 11 - May 5 curated by Anna Surinyach, Port Tarragona, Catalonia
2024: Stepping Soft On The Earth - Nov 18, 2023 - Apr 14, 2024, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Newcastle Upon Tyne (UK)
2023: Backlight 2023 Festival - Tampere Art Museum, curated by Harri Palviranta, Tampere (FI)
2023: River Flows Downstream - MEI Art Gallery, curated by Roï Saade, Washington D.C
2023: Sharjah Biennial 15: Thinking Historically in the Present - Conceived by Okwui Enwezor, curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, Sharjah (UAE)
2022: Cortona on The Move Culture Makers for a Climate-Just Future - Nov 10 - Dec 15, Paris (FR)
2022: When the well is dry - Aug 20 - Dec 10, Vermont (US)
2022: Biennale of Female Photography - Edition II - Mantova (IT)
2020: After Us, The Flood - KUNST HAUS WIEN ecological museum, Wien (AT)
2020: Photoville’s Artists to Watch - Brooklyn, NYC (US)
2020: PhEST International Festival of Photography and Art - Monopoli (IT)
2020: My Environment International Festival - Neue Schule für Fotografie, Berlin (DE)
2019: F2 Fotofestival on Water and Justice - Dortmund (DE)
2019: UNDP exhibition: Inequality and climate change at Photoville - Brooklyn, NYC (US)
2019: Group show, IRAN, 1979-2019 - MAUPETIT CÔTÉ Gallery, Marseille (FR)
2019: IWPA travelling exhibition - La Galerie, Dubai, Alliance Française
2018: Group show “REAL IRAN” - Gallery Mandarin, Paris (FR)
2017: Iran Anne 38 Group show - Les Rencontres d’Arles Festival, Arles (FR)
2016: PondyPHOTO India International Art Festival - India
2013: Bursa Photo Festival, Colors of Life exhibition - Bursa (TU)
2013: Tirgan Iranian/Canadian Art and Culture Festival and Visual Art Exhibition -Toronto (CA)
2013: HIPA Photo Contest annual Book exhibition - Wollongong University of Dubai (UAE)
