BIO

Ofelia Arzate is a Mexican-Canadian photographic artist living and working in Canada since 2013, currently based in the Annapolis Valley, Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia). Her work defies conventional frameworks and explores themes of solitude, individuality, and a profound, enduring ache for belonging. With a documentary approach, she draws on memory, emotion, and inherited silences—particularly her family’s tradition of the unspoken and unspeakable.

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The recurring presence of her daughters in her photographs embodies an ambivalence between new and past experiences, serving as both subjects and reflections of her inner world. Ultimately, her work reveals herself as the true subject—seeking connection, clarity, and a deeper understanding of identity through image-making.

 

Ofelia is available for family and portraiture sessions, events, creative collaborations, and commissions.

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info@ofeliaphoto.com

+1 780 263 9946

IG @ofelia_photo

 

 

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

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Documentary Family Awards

• 2021 – Shortlisted: Nothing is Better Than Real Life

• 2021 – Shortlisted: Cellphone

Made for Documentary Awards

• 2025 – First Place: [Extra]Ordinary

• 2025 – 2 Honorable Mentions: [Extra]Ordinary

• 2025 – 2 Judge’s Choice Awards: [Extra]Ordinary

This is Reportage: Family

• 2022 – Winner: Family Story Awards, Collection 12

• 2023 – Winner: Family Story Awards, Collection 20

Inspiration Family Photographers

• 2024 – Winner: Best Family Collection, Collection 24

• 2024 – Winner: Best Family Awards, Collection 44

• 2024 – Winner: Best Family Awards, Collection 46

• 2024 – Winner: Best Family Awards, Collection 48

• 2024 – Honorable Mention: Best Family Awards, Collections 26 & 43

• 2024 – Juror: Best Family Awards, Collection 45

• 2025 – Honorable Mentions: Best Family Awards, Collection 49, 50, 52, 54, 55, 36 & 57

• 2025 – Winner: Best Family Awards, Collection 56 & 57

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EXHIBITIONS & PUBLICATIONS

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• Photo Cereal Zine, Issue 1 (2021)

• This Detailed Life Magazine, Edition 5 (2022)

• Leverage Lens Film + Art Festival, Gallery Exhibition – Toronto, Canada (2025)

• Present - Self-published collaborative Zine (2025)

• Memory Cult Magazine Issue 1 (2025)

• Co-Ex Collection 5: The Forgotten In-Between, Project Feature (2025)

• Upcoming (March 2026) Tides Art Gallery - Guest wall exhibition "Children from Another Star" – Kentville, NS

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