There’s a particular kind of magic in old-school photo studios across the Middle East. The kind where a single backdrop could tell a thousand stories, where posture mattered, pride was worn quietly, and every photograph felt like an invitation. For its latest project with Nike Sportswear, @middleastarchive taps straight into that nostalgia, and reimagines it with heart, warmth, and unmistakable regional soul.
Titled “My Home Is Your Home”, or Beit Beitkom (البيت بيتكم), the series is exactly what it sounds like: a visual embrace. Set in Qanater, just outside Cairo, the project unfolds like a welcome extended without hesitation. No spectacle, no performance, just presence.
Shot by Mariam El Gendy, the portraits capture neighbours, friends, and members of the local community along a garden path framed by soft lavender curtains. The effect? Intimate, layered, almost cinematic. Each image feels like stepping into someone else’s living room, or better yet, into a memory that isn’t quite yours but somehow feels familiar.
This is where Middle East Archive excels: preserving the emotional grammar of the region while letting it breathe in the present. There’s pride here, but it’s gentle. Connection, but never forced. These are portraits that don’t ask to be decoded, they ask to be felt.
Under the creative direction of Romaisa Baddar, the project balances tenderness with intention, while styling by Ahmed Sorour keeps things grounded, human, and lived-in. The carefully crafted backdrop, featuring title calligraphy by Abdullah Muhammad and design by Romaisa Baddar, becomes more than a set; it’s a threshold. A symbolic doorway between tradition and now.
What makes the series resonate is its refusal to shout. In a world obsessed with scale, this project chooses closeness. In a culture rich with hospitality, “Beit Beitkom” becomes both message and method, reminding us that home isn’t always a place, but a feeling we extend to others.
Nike Sportswear may be the collaborator, but the soul of this project belongs entirely to the people in front of the lens, and the culture that raised them.
Credits, where due:
Creative Director: Romaisa Baddar
Photographer: Mariam El Gendy
Production & Casting: Hassan Atia, Heloise Vybiral
Stylist: Ahmed Sorour
Production Assistant: Ahmad Mansour
Location Scout: Abdelraahman Saad
Title Calligrapher Backdrop: Abdullah Muhammad
Design Backdrop: Romaisa Baddar
Because sometimes, the most powerful statement is simply opening the door and saying: come in.
