Bahraini Zainab Al Satrawi talks about winning an online photography competition organised by the British Council, which captured the Middle East through its cultural heritage.

The online photography competition was an offshoot of ‘My Father’s House: The Architecture of Cultural Heritage’, which explores the face of the Arabian Gulf through its architecture and showcases the work of three UK and five regional photographers. One of the biggest art events held by the British Council in Bahrain, the exhibition has travelled all over the Middle East and will also be exhibited in London at a later date.

Through the online competition, the British Council gave a chance to amateur and professional photographers in the Middle East to capture what the region’s cultural heritage means to them.

It was the perspective of 16-year-old Bahraini girl, Zainab Al Satrawi, which helped her emerge winner in the 13-24 age groups, which had entries from all over the region.

Talking about the winning photograph, titled ‘A Moment in a Memory with a Girl Looking through the Window of her Hurt’, Zainab says, “I shot this photo in my grandfather’s house, I set my camera using a tripod and I sat next to that window.”

Why did she choose to feature herself in the photograph?
“I tried to use many models initially. However, it was the moment of memory that belonged to me. That’s what I have tried to capture — a wonderful moment from the past in a nicely coloured room with great lighting from the window.”

Her grandfather’s house is one of the oldest in Noaim. “I felt that moment when the girl is remembering all her good memories, as if waiting for them to come to life again,
had to be documented.”

A student in the XIth grade at Alnoor Secondary School, Zainab has always been interested in photography. “To me, photography is a means to communicate my thoughts about life. I have been taking photographs since I was seven but I started taking it seriously after I won a photo competition organised by the Northern Governorate at the age of 10.”

She started attending workshops and courses explaining the technicalities of taking pictures, especially at the Bahrain Association for Photography. “It was because of God and the constant encouragement of my parents and my sister that I could reach this level. The advice of my teachers, especially Mohammed Alshaikh, also helped me a lot.”

Despite her love for photography, it is architecture that she wants to take up as her career. “I believe that your hobby should not become your career. If it does, you start looking at it as another job. Moreover diversification is a good thing and I am planning to major in architecture and hopefully study it at Georgetown University.”

Her entry, along with other winners of the competition, will be displayed online and at an exhibition at the British Council in London. The aim of the exhibition is to provide a collective representation of how people living in the Middle East today view their cultural heritage, and to build awareness and understanding about the region in the UK.