Crawling in the Dust

Credit: Ali Zaraay

Crawling in the Dust explores how urban expansion and bridges ironically block the Nomadic Bedouins in Egypt’s Delta from moving freely. 

Ali Zaraay is an Egyptian documentary photographer and his masterclass project follows his friend, Haj Hani, and his Nomadic Bedouin family and attempts to look through the family’s different generations, into the social memory of Egypt’s Delta Nomads, their alternative narratives of the “road” and “home”, their relationships to lands, animals and modes in which they radically resist marginalization by imagining otherwise about themselves.

For the 28th edition of the Joop Swart Masterclass, we brought together 12 emerging photographers from around the world to develop a project, and develop the tools to make a viable career in photography.

The participants' developing projects cover a wide array of topics, from explorations of love amid war to the profound impact of conflict on people’s lives. Collectively, their work highlights the concerning state of the world and the resilience of communities and journalists worldwide.

Launched in 1994, the Joop Swart Masterclass is World Press Photo’s best-known educational program for emerging photographers, encouraging new and diverse approaches to photojournalism, documentary photography and visual storytelling. After a three-year hiatus, the Joop Swart Masterclass returns this year, with a focus on the MENA region, thanks to funding from the Porticus Foundation.