Featuring the work of four contemporary artists: Boushra Almutawakel of Yemen, Shadi Ghadirian of Iran, Rania Matar of Lebanon, and Reem Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia, “The Middle East Revealed: A Female Perspective” explores identity, culture, politics, and history of the region. Almutawakel, is one of Yemen’s first female photographers, and a founding member of Al-Halaqa, a group of artists who created an exhibition space and forum for discourse in Yemen. Ghadirian is a modern woman living under sharia, the ancient and religious code of Islamic law, and her  photographs challenge woman’s roles under the Islamic state. Matar, born and raised in Lebanon though now lives in the United States, focuses on girls and women, and is widely known for her images of teenage girls in their bedrooms in Lebanon and Palestine. Al Faisal is known for her black-and-white photographs of the Hajj, a four-day pilgrimage to Mecca that takes place annually at the end of the Muslim year.

Additionally, Howard Greenberg Gallery is also showing images Margaret Bourke-White made for LIFE magazine in Syria in 1940. Bourke-White, well-known as the first female photojournalist, documented Syria’s pivotal role in the Middle East, seven months before the United States entered World War II. The exhibition includes more than 15 vintage production prints used in the magazine.

“The Middle East Revealed: A Female Perspective” is currently on display at Howard Greenberg Gallery in New York City through August 30, 2014.