Nelly El Sharkawy, born in Cairo in 1995, is an architect and ballerina who started practicing photography in 2011. While her work ranges from conceptual self-portraits to black and white street photography, El Sharkawy is currently working on architectural photography. Her last solo exhibition was showcased as part of Cairo Photo Week in 2023, and her work has been shown widely in group exhibitions in Egypt at venues such as Gypsum Gallery OVR, Art d'Egypte, Zamalek Art Gallery, Soma Art Gallery, The Arts Mart Gallery, Darb1718, Shnit Film Festival, Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (DCAF), and The Palace of Arts, among others. 

She was nominated for the Foam Paul Huf Award in 2017 and her work was featured in the top ten architectural photographs in The Sharjah Arab Photo Award in 2013. El Sharkawy has won two awards for "Best Innovative Photograph" in the Cairo Camera Club, as well as the CIB prize in the 25th Youth Salon. El Sharkawy is currently the Managing Partner and creative director of Cairopolitan, a design boutique and art gallery located in Cairo, Egypt.