Celebrating Diversity Through Photos: Alia Youssef

Based in the West Coast seaport city of Vancouver, Alia Youssef is a documentary photographer who has dedicated much of her career to capturing the stories of Muslims across the country. Youssef’s goal is to diversify the media landscape in the West and present more authentic narratives through portraiture while working with publications, major international brands and organizations. Her beautiful photographs have been a progressive step in capturing the stories of diverse Canadians who have origins spanning the globe. We contacted the artist to learn more about her story and her incredible photography.

Canadians are incredibly multicultural, how do you self-identify?

I have 3 passports – Canadian, Egyptian and British. I mostly identify as Canadian with an Egyptian/British background, though.

Can you tell us a bit about how you became a photographer? 

I picked up our family point-and-shoot camera at fourteen, and immediately became interested in taking photos, especially portraits. I began practicing with my mom, sisters and friends, and not long after, upgraded to a DSLR camera and began being commissioned for family photoshoots, headshots and so on. My mother’s support at the beginning was critical; she fostered my creativity and supported every aspect of my growth. When I was in my last year of high school, I decided I wanted to continue with photography at the university level and enrolled in a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography program at Ryerson University which I completed in 2017. In 2018, I decided to pursue my Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Media, which I completed this year.

Your work engages with important social issues including representation and Islamophobia. As a Muslim, why is this focus so important to you and your work?

It had been apparent to me from a young age that Muslim individuals face harsh stereotypes and prejudice in the West. In my final year of my undergrad, I took a ‘Women in Islam’ course at my university and learnt more about the historical and contemporary misrepresentation of Muslim women. What I learned in that course motivated me to do something to change these representations. I then decided to make a photography project that showcased the diversity of not only how we look, but the diversity of our stories and experiences. I first began with photographing Muslim women at my university and then quickly connected with many women across the city. Over the three years working on the project, I photographed 160 women from all across Canada. The women’s ages range from 15-85; they come from countries all over the world, and they have such diverse careers, from an Olympian, to a tattoo artist, to professors and teachers, doctors, artists and creatives, to name a few.

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Artists are often called ‘creatives’. What does the term ‘creative’ mean to you?

In my opinion, being a ‘creative’ means combining the medium you are passionate about (in my case, photography) with ideas and stories that you care about. I believe creatives have ideas that they want to communicate with their art, and they find innovative ways to showcase them.

Your projects, ‘Generations’ and ‘The Sisters Project’ are incredibly personal and touching. Can you tell us any behind-the-scenes stories about your work on these collections?

In 2018, one and a half years into working on The Sisters Project, I decided to go on a cross-Canada journey to photograph Muslim women all across the country. Over the course of a single summer, I visited twelve different cities and photographed over eighty women. During that trip, I was met with so much generosity and hospitality, with people offering to drive me places, inviting me to their homes for dinner, and introducing me to their friends, families and communities. That trip showed me how kind and gracious people can be and truly inspired me. It also allowed me to discover so much about the Muslim communities across the country, including learning about pioneering community members and unique histories, which inspired me to begin my latest project, Generations. Generations was inspired by wanting to share the underrepresented stories and histories of the incredible women and communities I learned about on that cross-Canada journey.

Can you give us a brief description of each project?

The Sisters Project combats negative stereotypes of Muslim women by showcasing the diverse stories of women across Canada, while also creating a space of inclusion and belonging for all self-identifying Muslim women to embrace and celebrate their unique identities.

Generations aims to complicate the generally simplistic depiction of Muslim communities by asserting our diverse narratives – past and present – through multigenerational portraits and shared stories, particularly in the context of Canada’s collective consciousness. My goal for this work is to make space for women’s stories, which are so often sidelined in both marginal and mainstream narratives. These photographs of family units, in which a matriarchal figure is usually portrayed as a carrier of wisdom and keeper of cultural and family narratives, are intended to draw attention to both generational similarities and differences.

Which would be essential camera equipment you can’t live without?

A canon DSLR (I use a Canon 6D Mark 2 or Canon 5D Mark 4), a Canon 50mm 1.2 lens, and a reflector.

You have had the opportunity to work with some incredible publications and businesses, ranging from Dove to VICE news. What’s been the biggest highlight in your career so far? Working on Dove’s #ShowUs project has been a big highlight in my career so far. The biggest highlight from working on the project? Having my work selected as one of the campaign images in Times Square. I was blown away by the fact that one of my images would be seen by so many people, on such a monumental scale.

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Rapid Fire Questions:

Favorite creative app?

I spend most of my time on Lightroom and a photo software called AlienSkin.

Favorite photographer?

My favourite photographer always changes but I’m really inspired by Rania Matar at the moment.

Must-have perfume? 

Glossier’s ‘You’ or Nest’s ‘Indigo’

Vintage or new? 

New but from small and sustainable brands and businesses.

Post-pandemic vacation destination?

I really loved Mexico City when I visited last December and am excited to go back and visit other spots such as Oaxaca City, San Miguel de Allende and Isla Holbox, to name a few.