Dunya Zita Named BJP Ones to Watch 2025 Photographer

British Journal of Photography has named Dunya Zita as one of its Ones to Watch for 2025, as nominated by curator Lisanne van Happen. The self-taught, Utrecht-based photographer quit her concept store job five years ago and traveled to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, where she volunteered at a refugee camp teaching arts and sports. There she created her series 'Beyond Borders' using only analogue photography, capturing honest still lifes of tent interiors and warm portraits of children. Her work explores themes of migration, home, and geography, focusing on the SWANA region. Zita's film 'Beyond Words' continues these themes, examining her family in Morocco and the challenge of communicating across language barriers. The film was part of an exhibition with ten migrant or diaspora artists at the Maritime Museum in Rotterdam. Zita plans to expand her film practice and experiment with collaging analogue prints. Her work is described by van Happen as direct, rough, poetic, and open for interpretation, using photography, film, and poetry to explore community and connection.