Gazelle Samizay was born in 1981 to a family of teachers and social activists in the midst of the communist invasion in Kabul, Afghanistan. Her family was forced to leave the country, fleeing to Paris, Washington D.C., and eventually landing in the rural town of Pullman, Washington. Upon graduating high school, Samizay moved to Seattle to pursue her undergraduate degree at the University of Washington where she received her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and International Studies in 2004.
As a multimedia artist, Samizay’s photography and video works have been exhibited in both the U.S. and abroad, including New York, Washington D.C., Freiburg, Germany, Iquitos, Peru and Bogotá, Colombia. Samizay is the recipient of numerous grants and awards such as the Mary Gates Research Grant, Arizona Artist Guild Scholarship and the Medici Grant. She has also taught artist workshops in the US, Afghanistan and Jordan. Currently, Samizay is pursuing her Master in Fine Arts at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
All Images Copyrighted to Artist
