Salma El Zamel is a Canadian documentary photographer and writer. She draws inspiration from her Egyptian Turkic heritage and a life shaped by travel and immigration. Her work explores the exoteric elements of overlooked daily activities and what they reveal about people’s identities and social values.

Salma writes on issues of representation, Islamophobia, modernization, neoliberalism, lifestyle and material culture, colonial intersectionality, with a growing interest in decolonial perspectives. She has conducted fieldwork in Egypt following the 2011 revolution, as well as in Turkey and Canada. In parallel with her creative and academic pursuits, Salma collaborates with grassroots and marginalized communities through NGOs, where she also works as a grant writer—helping organizations secure funding to sustain their missions.

She holds an Honours BA in Political Science and an MA in Globalization from McMaster University, as well as an MA in Sociology and Anthropology from Ibn Haldun University in Turkey.

Her approach to storytelling combines academic research with visual media to engage the public in critical, meaningful dialogue.

More of her work below.