Acclaimed Lebanese photographer and 2018 Guggenheim Fellow, Matar traveled to her home country to produce her stunning work-in-progress project Where Do I Go? لوين روح¸ inspired by the young generation of Lebanese women whose resilience and hope shine through the complexities of living in a country ill-prepared for COVID- 19 and ravaged by corruption and an ongoing financial crisis. As part of her larger initiative and best-selling photography book, SHE, Rania’s winning project explores issues of personal and collective identity through female adolescence and womanhood. A gripping and beautifully-shot examination of subjectivity and the female gaze, Matar portrays the raw beauty of her subjects: their age, individuality, physicality, and mystery, photographing them the way she, a woman and a mother, sees them, beautiful and alive.

2025 will mark the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Lebanese Civil War. As we approach this symbolic date, Lebanon still suffers its consequences. In the past 3 years, conditions have deteriorated fast, especially since the 2020 Port of Beirut explosions. However, in this ongoing series, Where Do I Go?, Rania found inspiration in the women who were volunteering in the reconstruction. Instead of focusing on destruction, she chose to focus on their majestic presence, their creativity, strength, dignity, and resilience. Rania describes the photographs as that “They are my love letter to the women of Lebanon.”

Rania Matar was awarded the 3rd annual Leica Women Foto Project Award for this project in 2022.