Gulnara Samoilova


Gulnara Samoilova is a Russian-born American photographer, living in New York City. Her work in New York City after the September 11 attacks won a World Press Photo award and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Samoilova is the founder of the website, social media platform and travelling exhibition Women Street Photographers, and edited a book of the same name.

Life and work

Samoilova was born and grew up in Ufa, Bashkortostan, then part of the Soviet Union. After school she worked in a photo lab, then became a portrait photographer, and later a photojournalist for a local newspaper. She gained a diploma in photography from Moscow Polytech College.
In 1992 Samoilova moved to New York City and studied at the International Center of Photography. She worked for the Associated Press and photographed the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in New York City in 2001.
In 2017 Samoilova launched the website, social media platform and travelling exhibition Women Street Photographers, to show street photography by women. In 2021 a book of the same name was published, which she edited, containing the work of 100 photographers.

Publications

  • Women Street Photographers. Munich; London; New York: Prestel, 2021. Edited by Samoilova.. With a foreword by Ami Vitale and an essay by Melissa Breyer.

Awards

Collections

Samoilova's work is held in the following public collection: