Bieke Depoorter

Bieke Depoorter (born 1986 in Belgium) is a Belgian photographer known for her intimate, trust-driven approach to documentary practice. She received a master’s degree in photography from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent in 2009. At just twenty-five, she became a nominee of Magnum Photos, later becoming a full member in 2016—one of the youngest photographers to achieve this distinction.

Depoorter’s work centers on relationships forged through chance encounters. Her projects arise from the organic development of these interactions, emphasizing the porous boundary between photographer and subject. Many of her works, including “Ou Menya,” “I Am About to Call It a Day,” and “As It May Be,” explore intimate domestic spaces and individual lives encountered through travel. Her first major project, “Ou Menya,” created during trips through Russia, won the 2009 Magnum Expression Award.

In recent years, Depoorter has focused increasingly on challenging the conventions of photography, questioning authorship, power, and the ethics of representation. In “As It May Be,” she returned to Egypt with a draft of her book and invited locals to write directly onto the photographs, engaging in open dialogue about cultural difference and misinterpretation. “Agata,” created in intense collaboration with a Polish woman she met in Paris, further expands her interest in co-authored narratives and the fluidity between reality and fiction.

Depoorter has published multiple acclaimed photobooks, including Ou Menya, I Am About to Call It a Day, As It May Be, Sète#15, Agata, and Blinked Myself Awake. In 2020, she co-founded Des Palais, an independent publishing platform. Her work has earned numerous awards, including the Magnum Expression Award, the Larry Sultan Photography Award, the Prix Levallois, and a nomination for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize. Depoorter continues to exhibit globally, engaging audiences with her evolving exploration of collaboration, vulnerability, and the photographic medium itself.

Bieke Depoorter (born 1986, Kortrijk, Belgium) is a Belgian photographer and Magnum Photos member. She studied photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. Her first acclaimed book, ‘Ou Men Slept’ (2011), documented strangers she encountered at night in the United States, staying in their homes. Subsequent projects include ‘I Am About to Call It a Day’ (2014), made in Russia, and ‘As It May Be’ (2017), made in Egypt with co-author Stéphane Poussier. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and she received a World Press Photo award in 2010 for work featured in ‘Ou Men Slept’. Wikipedia documents her education, trajectory, and key publications.