Steve McCurry’s 7 Princesses: a portrait of the strength and character of Emirati women

Hamda Al Qubaisi faces the camera while sitting in the pilot’s seat of the passenger jet she flies for a living. Sharjah’s Sheikha Al Qassemi stands with her abaya falling gracefully over a pair of dangling gymnastic rings. Alamira Noor Bani Hashim strides across the frame with the construction site of Louvre Abu Dhabi in the background and, quietly sitting on a bed in her house in Dubai, the UAE’s oldest female photographer, Sheikha Al Suwaidi, is surrounded by her own images and a Leica camera.

These are just a few of the images from 7 Princesses, a series of 22 portraits by the well-known photojournalist Steve McCurry.

The idea behind this series, commissioned by The Empty Quarter gallery in Dubai, was to show the strength and character of Emirati women from all walks of life.

“We want to highlight the UAE as a queen and the seven emirates as seven princesses,” says Safa Al Hamed, managing partner of The Empty Quarter. “Steve McCurry is one of our muses in photography, he is the king of light. I am delighted to work with him on this project because he has his own unique way of telling stories and bringing images alive.”

By choosing women to show a diversity of Emiratis from different generations, Al Hamed says she is hoping to challenge stereotypes.

“We made sure that we represented the true Emirati woman. Her abaya, her jewellery and her character; what you see in the pictures is real, it is what you see in the street.”

Original article by Anna Seaman

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Steve McCurry’s 7 Princesses: a portrait of the strength and character of Emirati women