Ruwan Teodros (b. 1996) is a Lebanese-Ethiopian writer and photographer whose work delves into themes of identity, loss, and the intricate relationship she holds with Lebanon. Split between Beirut and New York City, her storytelling weaves together personal and collective histories, blurring the boundaries between the self and the larger cultural and political landscapes. Her creative voice bridges the past and present, shedding light on the overlooked, the fragile, and the deeply human aspects of life in the Arab world.

In both her writing and photography, Ruwan focuses on the unnoticed elements of her surroundings, particularly through the lens of memory. Her analog and digital photography practice captures quiet moments in a city like Beirut, where life seldom slows down. By seeking stillness, she documents scenes of beauty and tenderness: light streaming through timeworn shutters, silent exchanges between strangers, and the defiant persistence of daily life. These images serve not only as archives of fleeting moments but as a preservation of a city and culture in constant flux.

The August 4, 2020, Beirut port explosion marked a turning point in Ruwan’s work. The devastation—hundreds killed, thousands injured, and many displaced—compelled her to use photography as a way of holding onto a Beirut that seemed to be vanishing. In the wake of this tragedy, combined with Lebanon's economic crisis, Ruwan deepened her commitment to archiving not just the destruction but also the enduring spirit of those who remained to rebuild. Through her lens, she documents a Beirut that, while perpetually in a state of reconstruction, is never truly whole.

Her work is deeply personal yet resonates universally, especially with regard to her grandmother’s life and home. Ruwan’s bond with her grandmother profoundly influences her artistic practice, particularly in capturing small, tender moments—like her grandmother smoking cigarettes on the balcony or praying daily. These seemingly ordinary actions, rich with generational significance, form part of the larger cultural narrative she seeks to preserve. For Ruwan, such intimate moments reflect the enduring love that defines her heritage.

Photography, for Ruwan, becomes an act of resistance—an assertion of memory in a time when Arab lives and their stories are often marginalized or erased. Through her images, she refuses to let the lives of those in Lebanon fade into oblivion. In a world where Arab experiences are reduced to headlines and statistics, her photographs stand as love letters to Lebanon, resisting the erasure of human stories within her community. Her work is not about spectacle; it is about preservation, seeing what might otherwise be ignored.

Ruwan’s work has been exhibited at the Beirut-based art collective Takeover, and her photographs have appeared in The Public Source, Observer, and Al-Rawiya. Her images are both personal reflections and universal representations of loss, survival, and hope. While she does not claim to capture the full complexity of Beirut, her photographs offer glimpses of the delicate balance between strength and fragility, presence and absence, that define the city and its people. Each photograph becomes an act of remembrance, contributing to the larger archive of resistance. Through her lens, Ruwan Teodros preserves the fragile beauty of a city and its people that refuses to be forgotten.