Fazal Sheikh
author · photographer
Fazal Sheikh is a New York-born visual artist and photographer who documents people living in displaced and marginalized communities around the world. Born in 1965 to a Kenyan father of South Asian descent and a Swiss-American mother, his multicultural heritage instilled an awareness of the complexities of belonging and displacement, which became central themes in his life's work. After graduating from Princeton University in 1987, he traveled to Kenya on a Fulbright scholarship in 1992. His primary medium is the portrait, though his projects also encompass personal narratives, found photographs, archival material, sound recordings, and his own written texts. He is widely recognized for his documentation of refugees and immigrants, capturing deep personal narratives through both photography and academic essays.[1,2,3,4]
Themes
- displacement
- marginalized communities
- refugees
- portraits
- humanity
- belonging
Books
Works by Fazal Sheikh
- A Sense of Common Ground 1995 · Scalo · book · English ISBN 1881616517 First and only edition. Features duotone images taken in Africa.
Exhibitions
- 2016 Fazal Sheikh at Pace/MacGill Gallery Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York solo
Awards
- 1994 Infinity Award for Young Photographer International Center of Photography
- 1995 Leica Medal of Excellence Leica
- 1994 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship National Endowment for the Arts
- 2005 MacArthur Fellowship MacArthur Foundation
- 2012 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
- 1992 Fulbright Fellowship Fulbright Program

