Zanele Muholi

Zanele Muholi
FRPS
Muholi at the 2011 International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Born (1972-07-19) 19 July 1972 (age 52)
Umlazi, Durban, South Africa
EducationMarket Photo Workshop, MFA in Ryerson University
Known forPhotography
AwardsMbokodo Award (Visual Art) for South African Women in the Arts

Zanele Muholi FRPS (born 19 July 1972) is a South African artist and visual activist working in photography, video, and installation. Muholi's work focuses on race, gender and sexuality with a body of work that dates back to the early 2000s, documenting and celebrating the lives of South Africa's Black lesbian, gay, transgender, and intersex communities. Muholi is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns,[1] explaining that "I'm just human".[2]

Muholi was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize in 2015. They received an Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography in 2016, a Chevalier de Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2016, and an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2018.

Muholi had a retrospective exhibition on at Maison européenne de la photographie in Paris from 1 February to 25 May 2023.[3] Their work was also shown that year at Mudec-Museo delle Culture in Milan, from 31 March through 30 July 2023, showcasing 60 self-portraits in black and white chosen especially for Mudec.[4]

  1. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (2 November 2020). "Zanele Muholi's queer South Africa: 'I do not dare shoot at night. It is not safe'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  2. ^ Willis, Raquel (23 April 2019). "Zanele Muholi Forever Changed the Image of Black Queer South Africans". Out. Retrieved 22 August 2021. The Durbanite is quick to explain that more specific terms discussing gender nonconformity and queerness don't exist in their original Zulu language.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference cosmopolitan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "MUHOLI. A VISUAL ACTIVIST". Mudec (in Italian). Retrieved 22 July 2023.