News Center— Kurdish photographer and visual artist Awin Abbasi, originally from the city of Baneh in eastern Kurdistan, has qualified for the finals of the international "LensCulture 2026" competition, after her photographic project "Forbidden to Fall" was selected among the final shortlist of 41 projects from around the world.

Abbasi's project was chosen from among hundreds of thousands of submissions from 124 countries across five continents—an achievement that reflects the growing presence of Kurdish photography in international art forums.

Awin Abbasi announced her project's qualification through her Instagram account, expressing her happiness and pride in this achievement, considering the reaching of the final stage a great honor. She also shared an image from her project "Forbidden to Fall" alongside the announcement of her qualification.

The LensCulture Photography Competition is one of the prominent international competitions in the field of photography, attracting photographers and artists from various countries annually, and providing a platform to showcase photographic works addressing diverse human, social, and cultural issues to a wide international audience.

Abbasi's photographic experience is distinguished by its focus on issues related to humanity, society, and identity, employing photography to document life experiences and shed light on social and human issues that often remain far from media and artistic attention.

Over the past years, Awin Abbasi has participated in a number of art events and exhibitions, and her works have attracted attention from art and photography circles. Her project "Forbidden to Fall" reaching the LensCulture 2026 finals adds a new milestone to her artistic career and opens wider space for her works to be present on the international stage.

This qualification holds particular significance for the Kurdish photographic scene, as it allows an artistic experience from eastern Kurdistan to reach one of the international platforms specialized in photography, highlighting Kurdish artists' works, their visual experiences, and the issues reflected in their works.

Through her project "Forbidden to Fall," Awin Abbasi continues to present her photographic experience, which combines artistic dimensions with the expression of human and social experience, at a time when contemporary photography is witnessing growing interest in works that raise questions about identity, society, memory, and individual experiences.