Tilawin Collective

Algeria
Photographer Liasmine Fodil founded Tilawin, the Kabyle word for women, in 2021. The group’s logo, which is based on the Amazighen ideogram for the eye, was designed by Leïla Bakouche. At its most fundamental level, Tilwain is a mentoring program that pairs photographers based in Algeria and in its diaspora—all women—with less established practitioners for a year. Liasmine’s intention was to create a space in which to “think photography,” or nourish an imagination of the discipline that went beyond the production of visual stereotypes and commercial forms. She also sought to demystify photography as an artistic practice by providing a para-pedagogical context focused on the medium’s conceptual aspects. Liasmine's and her collaborators' initiative responds, in part, to the lack of infrastructure for the visibility of women’s photography in Algeria.