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Photography as a medium for social change

African photography is on the rise. From street to art photography, conceptual and documentary to fashion photography, homegrown photographers (not only in the Francophone-African countries) are increasingly stepping up to show their world what they see when they look through the lens, following decades of photographic misrepresentation, or reduction, by observers from outside the continent.

‘I believe in the power of still images’, proclaims Mario Macilau (1984). The Mozambican photographer uses his photography as a tool to change people’s minds about the world we’re living in, focusing on the living and working conditions of socially isolated groups. ‘I’m mostly thinking about how my work can contribute to changing their situation. As a social documentary photographer I try to break the silence surrounding them and bring their identities, which have been hidden for too long, to the foreground. Hopefully this will cause some social impact.’

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Activism for progressive change has always been integrated into the work of the young artist from the city of Maputo. Operating within a global movement fighting for social justice, peace and environmental issues, Macilau constantly confronts his audience with the power of realism. Born in the newly independent Mozambique in the midst of the most critical phase of its civil war, his family struggled. ‘Plants do not choose the garden in which they flourish and blossom’, he writes in his biography. Having worked since he was just seven years old, he started taking pictures just ten years ago, reaching a professional level in 2007. ‘Now I specialize in long-term projects on living and environmental conditions, striving for a positive change across different cultures, locations and perspectives.’

Macilau, whose images have been described as ‘alarming and provoking, arresting and engaging, public and private but, above all, utterly human’ does not expect people to tell him how amazing the compositions of his work are, because he would rather have them read his work deeply. ‘What I shoot is quite sensitive and I want it to create a line of discussion, to provoke. The power of the image together with my believe in my subjects motivate me to photograph their situations.‘ For Macilau it’s about sharing their testimonies, while directly reflecting on his own experiences. ‘I believe that the path of life has made me who I am and I learned from that. It would be easy to say that, if born somewhere else, I would have different views, but if you don’t experience something, you don’t know. My life is not based on imagination, but on experience. I was born in Mozambique and I am still based here, a fact that is important in my personal and professional life.’

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Even though he didn’t know how he could use photography as a source of income when he started out ten years ago, Macilau did believe in the medium as a stage to get his message out. Yet he admits to not knowing much about how critics perceive his images: ‘What they say is more virtual than real. There is a difference between misinterpreting an image and using a photograph to tell a different story than it was meant to do’. With that statement he aims at a century of photographic misrepresentation of the African continent. According to Macilau, who won both the Visa pour la Creation in France and the Protection Project Award in Washington last year, the world is filled with cameras these days and regardless of the past, we should look at how photographs are getting used right now to portray the continent and Mozambique in particular. ‘As professional photographers we should aim at painting a complete and coherent image, instead of letting amateurs tell a misleading story with sensational photographs.’

To do this he focuses on the different aspects of everyday life in his work. What brings a big difference when comparing photography to paintings or drawings is the fact that ‘the people are becoming part of your portfolio, including their real lives, identity and stories.’ This reality, says Macilau, must be seen by others in order to see the impact and changes they’ve gone through in the future. ‘They may be different, their stories might change, just like their way of thinking. There is not a singular image of Mozambique I intend to show. It changes constantly and I use my photography as a tool to show people’s lives to the world.’

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This is not an easy task though. As Macilau explains, artists in Mozambique are marginalized by people from the outside (like tourists and media) and the inside – collectors. He has to continue fighting and dreaming and even though he could choose to go abroad, he prefers to stay in Mozambique because it’s the best way for him to articulate the experiences of the people there. ‘I grew up there, I lived the same life [as my subjects, ed.] and I know what in their hearts and minds. It’s easy to understand each other and build a relationship, but as a photographer I also like to explore new worlds, work outside my comfort zone and discover different places.‘ Good reasons, especially when you consider that the recent economic growth hasn’t done anything for the popularity of photography in his country. ‘There is simply no social development here. Without it, emerging artists have a gloomy future. But we simply cannot force it. It’s not about the quantity of the images, but the quality.’

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What challenges the progress of photography in his country? ‘Young people in Mozambique are very afraid to take risks’, explains Macilau. ‘These days a lot of people come to me, saying: you travel a lot, I want to become a photographer and do the same. Young people have to first work on building a portfolio with strong images. They dream too much. South Africa for example does provide a lot of good spaces for young artists like Sabelo Mlangeni to develop themselves first.’ There are some good ‘new generation’ photographers in his country, such as Mauro Pinto and Filipe Branquinho. Macilau also points out Michael Tsegaye (Ethiopia) and Sammy Baloji (Congo) as examples of young talent.

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The African continent needs this new talent in order to correctly represent itself in the future. ‘We’re no victims. No matter what we have been through, we’re still here with the intention to achieve something. I hear people complain all the time, instead of fighting for what they believe in. Too much theory and not enough practical effort to change the situation, just like a lot of young photographers. They have to understand the world is more than just the continent we’re living in. We’re not special because we’re Africans, but because we’re human beings like everybody else and live together on the same planet.‘ Macilau therefore focuses on the present, but never looses sight of the future: ‘If today it’s raining and you don’t remove your clothes when entering the house, what will you wear tomorrow?

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Barbara Minishi is exploring her own ‘unique visual DNA’

African photography is on the rise. From street to art photography, conceptual and documentary to fashion photography, homegrown photographers (not only in the Francophone-African countries) are increasingly stepping up to show their world what they see when they look through the lens, following decades of photographic misrepresentation, or reduction, by observers from outside the continent.

Barbara Minishi shoots from instinct. ‘I immerse myself in my work and stay open to surprises’, she explains. ‘It’s easy to get set in a particular way of doing things, but I find that by following what I’m curious and excited about, and therefore what challenges me, I grow.’ What she’s scared about, the unknown, for instance, galvanises her. ‘That fear, a certain kind of vulnerability is necessary.’

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Minishi first came in contact with photography at an early age, when she played around with her father’s camera. At university she primarily shot as a way to avoid participating in other activities, but her work got noticed by the uni’s PR-department and she got hired as a photographer for the school paper. ‘I didn’t realise it was what I really wanted to do as a career until I had a ‘eureka!’ moment a week after graduation. I realised photography was what drove me and held my interest. With it I had a voice and could focus on the subjects I wanted to show the world.’

After an internship with one of the few photographers in Nairobi with whom she shared the same vision with respect to photography, Minishi started shooting her own documentary stories, teaching and challenging herself by just doing it because the schools to which she applied for further training charged steep fees. ‘Photography is a daily learning process that I got on Nairobi’s streets’, says Minishi. ‘I just love watching, observing and noticing, witnessing the ordinary and capturing that. Whether it be in fashion, commercial, documentary, art or portraiture, I relish the act of creating a strong constructive element, the ability to tell stories, the freedom to explore concepts and to challenge clichés.’ Photography is for her Minishi a playground that provides her with an audience and a chance to re-imagine, connect and learn.

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‘There are no proper schools of photography here in Kenya, but I feel the concept of visual literacy needs to be incorporated into our educational system as we are all sensitive to visual nuance and sometimes images get misconstrued.’

While she isn’t solely concerned with changing opinions, she does find it odd whenever someone says her images “don’t look Kenyan,” particularly as Kenya is where she grew up and went to school, and she mostly shoots Kenyans in Kenya. ‘Some people get really surprised by the calibre of my work, and by my aesthetic and manner of working, and assume it’s because of foreign influences. However, it’s the opposite that’s true. I focus on different subjects, and I think these do not automatically equate to being in one place. Sometimes getting out of your zone or circle of influence provides the opportunity to look at things from a different way.’

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About one thing Minishi is really clear: that her vision is not based on a quest. People can interpret her work however they want, whether they choose to view it as a sort of movement or not. ‘It’s their assumption but not my reality,’ she points out. ‘Maybe it’s because for too long a certain kind of image of Africa was mostly seen and now that there are more and more African photographers doing their own visionary work the rest of the world is starting to notice and calling it as a ‘quest’. I don’t think it is. I believe it’s simply photographers doing what they want to do and more people being receptive to our work.’ As a result she feels people sometimes get stuck discussing and analysing viewpoints about photography from Africa and forget that life is going on. ‘I would rather shoot more quality photographs than talk about the lopsided view. I’m really not concerned about cementing myself in the past.’

Sometimes however the rising photographer feels that she does get stuck in a ‘victim’ mentality as she talks too much about the past and external negative factors. ‘I forget that we are in the present, the now. Of course there’s history, but I can’t carry this around like excess luggage all the time and use it to justify how and why I shoot images. I have learned from it and still do, but don’t want to stay focused on it anymore. Learn from the past and move on, just like you deal with other difficulties. Use it to your advantage!’ No wonder her aim is to broaden her horizon and work worldwide, a goal she’s clearly already taking little steps towards.

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Asked how she’d like to portray Kenya, she shrugs: ‘Kenya is what it is. Truth is subjective and my truth is not necessarily that of others. So I don’t want to concoct any kind of image about my country.’ Her opinion about the development and limitations of photography in Kenya are just as clear: ‘Limitations exist based on an individual and how they view the world’, she says. ‘Pondering it doesn’t change anything and with the resources I have I am developing myself as best as I can. Of course I don’t have all the equipment, tools, or access or outreach I want, but this doesn’t stop me. I do what I can with what I have.‘ Whether the continent’s rising economy is being reflected in the popularity of photography in Kenya is for her also a non-issue: ‘It has always been popular in Africa, irrespective of the economical status. Same for Kenya.’

She sees the photography scene growing nonetheless, and she finds it ‘exciting and dynamic’. But she is careful about looking at other photographers’ work, in order to stay unique. ‘The challenge is always to create a cohesive story. Sometimes it happens, other times not.’ That there is a difference in the way situations are portrayed is natural, she believes. ‘Some people choose one angle, others another. I’m not grading another photographers work on what they may have failed to see and then take it on as my responsibility to get another opinion out to the international market.‘ And it’s not solely an African or non-African issue. ‘Both have their own failures, and I know that there are also foreigners who are indeed telling honest and beautiful stories about our continent.’

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Minishi stresses the point that her aim is not expressly to be different from other Kenyan or foreign photographers for the sake of standing out. Rather, it’s a lifelong process of exploring her own ‘unique visual DNA’. ‘I believe following what you are attracted to irrespective of what others say or do is the way to work. Of course you can learn from constructive criticism and get inspired by others photographers’ work, but I think it’s brilliant to have our different backgrounds influence our storytelling.’ What that will mean for her in the future is unknown. ‘The present is changing as the seconds tick by’, she says. ‘Therefore I focus on growing now, exploring and developing my vision on Kenya and the way to show this to the outside world though all manners possible.’

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LagosPhoto 2013: The Megacity & Non-City

One of the most important photography festivals in Africa, next to Les Rencontres de Bamako in Mali, is LagosPhoto, which this year will be held for the fourth time from October 25 till November 24 in the capital of Nigeria. Being the first and only international photography festival of the country is has appropriated itself the task to promote African photography from national as well as international photographers around a central theme, this year ‘The Megacity & Non-City’. Within this subject photographers tend to looks at both the development of urban centers and the influences of technology, the internet, and the digital revolution in Africa. They will also investigate how these factors have transformed photography and their sense of place in a globally connected world, exploring the relationship between photography and social conditions on the continent.

‘We want to form an answer to the stereotypical images of poverty, conflict and famine with which the photographic representation of the continent is infested’, according to founder and director of the festival Azu Nwagbogu, a native Lagosian. ‘A more nuanced and balanced, well-rounded perspective in which the negative as well as the positive aspects are represented, with a focus on diversity, is what we want to show.’ Refreshing, new and engaged, that’s what photography at LagosPhoto should be. That way Nwagbogu wants to show his audience what African photography has to offer, not what it lacks. From the expertise of domestic photographers and through the broad vision of their foreign counterparts. By extending to international photographers that work extensively on the continent they allow for a healthy dialogue between local and international artists.

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With over thirty photographers representing diverse genres as photojournalism, documentary, fine art, fashion and conceptual practices the festival extends outside of its official venue to include outdoor exhibitions in congested public spaces, with the aim of engaging the broader general public with photography. ‘As we started LagosPhoto with the predicament of photographers only focussing on the negative sides of Africa in mind, it is refreshing that now we are moving beyond this to focus on broader image-based work that approach fine art and conceptual practices, more on par with the international arts community. I think that negating the negative of African imagery is an important first step, but after that you need to step forward and show what is new and engaging.’ Nwagbogu has observed a massive change in the way the continent is represented through photography since the festival started. By focusing on great balanced work others are encouraged to capture these sorts of stories and imageries, which add value and importance.

There is a thriving community of emerging photographers in Nigeria as well as in other African countries who decide to stay local and document the experiences of their environment. ‘They of course have the advantage of specific knowledge and an intimate relationship with their surroundings, but also travel and document other cultures and experiences. With the right tools to tell their own stories the can reach great results’, says Nwagbogu, who himself is motivated by that progress. ‘LagosPhoto is organized by a very small and hardworking team, and each year the festival grows to an unprecedented level. We are focused on creating a community for photography to thrive and it’s good to see how interesting that community has become.‘ With LagosPhoto Nwagbogu is looking to build an institution; an entity that is self sustaining and relevant beyond our days. As for African photography, we knows that it will continue to grow and is are excited to be a part of this growth process. ‘Everything in Africa is unique and most of the time very complicated; therefore more exciting and interesting. That makes me humble while also inspiring me in equal matter. Our festival will keep on growing and service the continent.’

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African refugees, another problem for the Israeli government

‘Infiltrators is what they are called’, shouts Oscar Olivier. This volunteer for the Hotline for Migrant Workers (HMW) is getting upset every time he starts talking about them: African refugees in Israel. ‘The situation of refugees here is quite critical’, he explains, ‘and it hasn’t improved due to the lack of legislation.’ It might come as a surprise to most people, but there is quite an African population in Israel. Next to the 120,000 African Jews, there are 35,000 African refugees in a country counting nearly 7,5 million inhabitants. But where the first group of mainly Ethiopian Jews cost the Israeli government little problems, it’s the refugees – who mainly reside in the beach resort of Tel Aviv – that give this Jewish state the biggest headache next to their conflict with the Palestinians. Their existence hardly receive any coverage anywhere, but where the history of African Jews dates back over 2700 years and they therefore, but for the color of their skin, are as Israeli alike, it’s the African refugees that the inhabitants of Tel Aviv became more agitated with over the past decade.

African Jews and African refugees

‘Actually, the whole situation for African refugees has become critical since xenophobia is orchestrated by some government ministers’, says Oscar, himself from Congo,  aiming at Eli Yishai of Interior and Yaakov Neeman of Justice. Because of incitement their – lack of – legislation and ruling, refugees can be ‘beaten up in the streets’ or ‘even stabbed’, while their houses can be ‘set on fire for no reason’. ‘By their neighbors so to speak’, reacts a shocked Oscar. And by ‘their neighbors’ he doesn’t only mean the white, European Jews, back also their black brothers. ‘African Jews are a little bit like African Americans: some of them are embarrassed or ashamed to be associated with Africa or black people. Therefore – again, some of them – consider themselves not to be Africans or blacks and prefer to stay away from fellow their original brothers.’ A critical situation, that due to the every ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

African refugees in Tel Aviv

When thinking about the Israeli beach resort Tel Aviv, little people would think about the problems this country has. Along the sandy beaches and perfect coast line, many tend to forget the conflict that’s been holding the country in a permanent state of emergency. But even though Gaza and the West Bank are far away and orthodox Jews aren’t the only people you see walking in the streets – like in Jerusalem – there is another problem this second city of Israel faces. ‘Nearly 35,000 African refugees, almost 23,000 from Eritrea, 5000 from Sudan, 1000 Ivoirians, 300 Congolese and a few from different places on the continent’, according to Oscar. They’ve been coming into the country via Egypt since the early nineties, but their numbers increased since early 2007. The city of choice was Tel Aviv, since it’s the most cosmopolitan and ‘open-minded’ city in Israel, with the most humanitarian NGO’s to support them. Almost 85 percent of them live in South Tel-Aviv, a neighborhood I toured last summer with Swaray Alusine – from Sierra Leone – from the African Workers Union (AWU). His NGO is a social change organization founded and registered in Israel since November 1997 to advocate for both migrant workers and their children (especially those born in this country), while HMW is there to assist refugees and foreign workers to deal with the local bureaucracy. ‘To build a bridge between the Israeli society and refugees’, Oscar explains. A bridge well needed, because even though the refugees live in the same neighborhood with Israeli Jews, they also live completely segregated from each other, as two people living apart together on the same land. ‘Bear in mind however’, Oscar continues, ‘that African refugees are segregating themselves by not learning the local Hebrew language. They keep on speaking English or French for years, while we are not in England nor France.’ What a paradox.

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Both of the NGO’s don’t receive any funding from the government, so therefore the AWU collects humanitarian goods like clothing from kibbutzim and distributes them to the refugees. They have to, because there is no clear or set law by the State of Israel toward refugee seekers. ‘It is only on humanitarian grounds that some of them receive temporary protection; that is not being arrested by the immigration officers’, tells a well spoken Swaray. ‘It’s only a small percentage that receives refugee status, but then still nothing is certain. No housing is provided, no free education and no free medical attention. There’s nothing they can do if the authority does not allow them to do anything.’ A completely different world compared to that of the African Jews from Ethiopia, who are considered full citizens of Israel and receive rights accordingly. They live in Ethiopian communities throughout the country, where they get direct assistance in their life support by the government. ‘The African Jew sits higher in hierarchy than the refugee one. Even their general opinion about the conflict and towards Palestinians are the same as the ‘white’ Jews one’s’, according to Oscar. ‘But they also get discriminated sometimes, by European Jews. Unemployment rates among them are very high and most black Jews live by government subventions. Therefore they are not happy to see fellow Africans coming in, believing they have to share their piece of the pie. While not even a single cent is given to the refugees by the government.’ It’s just one of the reasons for the tensions between these brothers and as a result the two don’t even live together anymore.

South Tel Aviv

Most African refugees live in South Tel Aviv, in neighborhoods like Shapira and HaTikva. Swaray explains that almost all of the few Israeli that lived in the area fled to the north or central part of the city. ‘This area is now completely inhabited by refugees, so much of them that some without housing sleep in the park or on the street. Most of the squad or pay a small amount of rent to some shabby home owner who doesn’t want people to know he rent out to refugees.’ Swaray has lived in the area for many years himself and calls the lives of refugees in Tel Aviv – and elsewhere in Israel – ‘miserable, laborious and mostly short lived’. No wonder it forms the main center of the AWU as well as HMW, since no authority cares for these refugees. ‘They come here because of civil wars, mismanagement, famine or ethno-political strive, but live here is not much better. They few that have a simple job try to support the community, while they can do notning but hang around all day and wait for something to come along. It is very difficult for them to get a meal every day, but sanitation is the biggest problem. They survive by depending on gifts, help from NGO’s like us and otherwise begging. Sometimes they would have been better off staying in Africa.’

Dead end

Like said, Israel has no written or defined refugee laws. And since there is no legislation on this issue, Oscar claims that every asylum request is handled according to the feelings of clerks working for the Ministry of Interior. ‘It looks like the religious minister and her clerks are allergic to African refugees and to anyone that looks different, so requests are determined by the moods of those people rather than the law. Meaning that requests are never checked out – except when it concerns an African Jew; there is no relation between them and other African refugees’, so says Oscar. ‘It’s a dead end.’ Only a few individuals of the Members of Parliament – like the Ethiopian Jew Shlomo Molla – are supportive of the refugee problem, while many more of them would rather see them go them come. ‘But still then they have to file a report at the UNHCR-office in Jerusalem, before they can apply to the ministry for a re-entry visa. After contacting them, presuming they believe your story, you can travel to another country for a specific time. But not to the Palestinian Authority of course. There are no African living there and it’s off limits to everyone.’ Refugees can get a three months visa that is renewable, but can also be cancelled at any time. Some temporary examples are given a visas for a month or two, just to protect them from getting arrested because they don’t have any papers. It’s a vicious circle; nothing like Europe, where a refugee with legal status can just buy a ticket and travel. Even travelling within the borders of Israel is dangerous without the right papers. ‘Refugees aren’t safe in Israel anywhere. Because there is no legal ruling concerning their issues, the way to immigration police’s abuse is large and wide open.’ Not surprising they don’t really welcome you as a journalist, let alone speak openly about their situation with you.

Voiceless

Next to the political factors, also some rabbis are working against refugees. Oscar blames the color of their skin: ‘It’s has taken a huge place in the minds of clerks, rabbis and the public. Being black means the same as being a refugee and there is no room for compassion. Some rabbis have even signed a letter, forbidding renting houses to refugees. And their followers abide by them.’ Although there are discrimination laws in Israel which also cover Africans living there, they do not apply to refugees. ‘Or are at least refugees are not taken into account.’ The salvation of refugees comes exclusively from NGO’s like the AWU and HMW, both examples of organizations that struggle with their own problems as well. Even though Oscar tries to explain that a lot of refugees have been moving from one place to another since biblical times, the Israeli government doesn’t bow. ‘Their stamped as infiltrators, but no file about their status has ever been checked by the ministry. You cannot label them like that’, responds an angry Oscar. Swaray isn’t anything more uplifting about the situation in Tel Aviv: ‘Refugees are voiceless in Israel.’

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