Hafiz with Sabiha Çimen

Santa Fe Workshops collection of free online events, Creativity Continues, features a special Thursday evening event in March with Magnum photographer Sabiha Çimen, whose work explores women, Islamic culture, portraiture, and still life through deeply self-reflective projects.

A self-taught photographer based between Istanbul and New York, Sabiha’s practice is grounded in curiosity and personal experience. Her acclaimed long-term project, Hafiz, offers an intimate look at the lives of young women attending Qur’an schools in Turkey, capturing moments of sisterhood, study, and self-discovery. The work, which became her debut book and earned the Paris Photo/Aperture First PhotoBook Award, established her as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary photography.

In this presentation, Sabiha reflects on the journey behind Hafiz, sharing how she began photographing such a personal story and how the project shaped her artistic path. She discusses the process of creating the photobook, from its conceptual and psychological layers to sequencing, pairing, and editing.

Sabiha’s work has been widely recognized with honors including the PHmuseum Women Photographers Grant, the W. Eugene Smith Grant, Light Work Artist Residency, World Press Photo Awards, and most recently, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2025.

The program concludes as Sabiha engages in a live Q&A with the webinar audience. For those unable to attend live, a recording is available to all registered participants.

Creativity Continues is a program that collectively develops creative voices by offering connection and encouraging expression. Because the goal is to engage all within our creative community, we encourage you to extend invitations and share Santa Fe Workshops Creativity Continues events with anyone who expresses an interest.