ABOUT
US
Photopia is a hub for photographers living in Egypt. We serve any photography enthusiast being an emerging talent or a professional artist in an authentic friendly venue where their talents are captured, supported and enhanced. Photopia was founded by two photography enthusiasts for the purpose of creating a permanent destination for the rising photography community in Egypt.
We host a various range of courses, workshops and talks by the region's renowned photographers in all fields. Our venue in East Cairo offer the Egyptian Photography community an unlimited friendly support 6 days a week, 11 hours a day.
Photopia is also the publisher of Photobook Egypt and the creator of Cairo Photo Week, Alexandria Photo Week & El Gouna Photo Week.
Photopia is an independent photography school, studio, gallery & co-working space for photographers and image-makers founded in 2012. It is also the founder & organizer of Cairo’s most impactful regional photo festival Cairo Photo Week. Photopia is a full-fledged hub for photographers living in Egypt and the region serving any photography enthusiast being an emerging talent or a professional artist in an authentic friendly venue in the heart of Cairo that offers unlimited support 6 days a week, 9 hours a day.
Photopia was founded by two photography enthusiasts in 2012 for the purpose of creating a permanent destination for the rising photography community.
Our photography school curates. various range of professionally-designed courses, workshops, masterclasses and talks by the region's renowned photographers in all fields and genres.
Photopia is also the publisher of Photobook Egypt : a series of photography books by renowned photographers in the region.
Photobook Egypt is a powerful series of photography books; each dedicated to a theme or a project photographed and narrated by remarkable Egyptian and regional photographers (whether emerging or established) and curated and published by Photopia Cairo.
Our aim is to offer a non-digital platform to document extraordinary photography work and make it accessible and affordable to photography enthusiasts & collectors. It is an ongoing project of enjoyable and visually rich photography that proudly represents Egypt's and the region's prominent photographers. Collecting them would be like owning a small part of Egypt on your bookshelf.
OUR
FOUNDERS
MARWA ABOU LEILA
Co-founder and Managing Partner
Marwa was graduated from Ain Shams University Commerce - English Section in 1999. She has been a photography enthusiast ever since. After quitting her banking career in 2011, she got together with a friend, Karim El Khadem and both founded Photopia in May 2012 for the sake of offering amateurs and pros an ongoing platform for photographers to meet up, learn, interact and get more exposure to opportunities & to bridge with more established ones.
She is passionate about photographers in general and highly believes in the Egyptian photographers in specific. She believes that all they need is to bridge with role models & success stories in order to get inspired and they will do miracles. Photopia was founded on that exact foundation: to help photographers become more skilled ones. The photography school collaborates with Egypt’s and the region’s top photographers to deliver quality and valuable photography education.
KARIM EL KHADEM
Co-founder
A banker. who loves the outdoors & nature: the desert, the mountains the forests & the sea.
I started taking pictures because I wanted to document what I see, as not to forget. Sparking an interest in photography, which grew over the years and invested in bigger and better equipment, and educated myself on different techniques to achieve the picture frame I see in my mind.
Marwa came to me with her idea of Photopia and I immediately knew I wanted to be part of it so I encouraged her to take the leap.
One day I will follow through and take the same leap and leave the corporate world. It just haven’t happened, but I know this day is going to come.
COLLABORATIONS
Photopia has proudly collaborated with:
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500px
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ABnG
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Adsum
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Arts -Mart
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AFAQ Fund
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Almasry Alyoum
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Cairo Camera Rentals
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Cairo fashion festival
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Canon
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CC Plus
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CCRC
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CIC
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CIC Cairo Slide Jam
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Coca-Cola
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Crave
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Creative Industry
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Dakhli West Elbalad
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Danish School of Media & Journalism
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Darb 1718
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D-Caf
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DEDI
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Desert Adventure Egypt
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Desert Rally
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Edu- fun,
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Elbeit Magazine
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Embassy of Sweden in Cairo
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EPS
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EU
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Flavour Republic
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General Co.
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Golden Tours
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GPP
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Gypsum
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Gearbox Studios
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Galleria40
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Heliopolis heritage
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Ismaelia co
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Louay Nasser Production Agency
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National Geographic AD
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Megawra
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Nile FM
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Nokia
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Nogoom FM
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Opio
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Oz Productions
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Plum Plu
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Prism
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Seoudi Markets
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Sodic
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SOMA Art
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Soorabook
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Swedish Institute Alexandria
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TBS
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The Danish Egyptian Dialogue Institute
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The French Institute in Cairo
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The Photographers’ gallery in London
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UNICEF
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Vichi Modeling Agency
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Wild Guanabana
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Yosra Essawy Program
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SONY
National Geographic Abu Dhabi Collaboration
Marwa Abou Leila - Managing Partner - was the main judge on the latest Nat Geo Abu Dhabi TV photo contest:
I AM A NAT GEO PHOTOGRAPHER that was aired on their TV channel in March and April 2018.
It is a significant collaboration that placed Photopia on the regional map.
انا مصور ناشيونال جيوغرافيك - الحلقة الثانية
I’m a Nat Geo photographer: Episode 2
انا مصور ناشيونال جيوغرافيك - الحلقة الرابعة و الاخيرة
I’m a Nat Geo photographer: Episode 4 (Final Episode)
انا مصور ناشيونال جيوغرافيك - الحلقة الاولي
I’m a Nat Geo photographer: Episode 1
انا مصور ناشيونال جيوغرافيك - الحلقة الثالثة
I’m a Nat Geo photographer: Episode 3