Ghaleb Cabbabé

Ghaleb Cabbabé was born in Beirut in 1978 during the Lebanese Civil War. In 1982, his family moved to Paris, and his aunt, a photographer, gave him his first camera, sparking a lifelong passion for photography.

After earning a degree in architecture from ALBA in Beirut and studying management at HEC Paris, Cabbabé lived and worked in places like Oman and Vietnam. He also carried out missions for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan, South Sudan, Congo, and Sri Lanka.

In 2012, he shifted his focus to photography, studying at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). His documentary work has since been widely recognized. He won the Byblos Bank Award in 2013, was shortlisted three times at the Athens Photo Festival, and his projects ranked among the top photo entries in the Magnum Photography Awards and LensCulture. His series How Can It Still Be Home? earned a “Highly Commended” mention at the Belfast Photo Festival and was also shortlisted at Athens.

His photography has appeared in The Photographic Journal, Aint-Bad, Fotofilmic, Vice Arabia, and National Geographic Thailand. He has exhibited solo and in groups in Beirut, Prague, Paris, Aix-en-Provence, and other cities. Cabbabé now lives and works in Geneva. His approach blends an architect’s eye for space and form with emotional storytelling rooted in memory, displacement, and belonging. (Website, Instagram)