Tshepiso Mazibuko, a former student of the social and artistic mentorship programme Of Soul and Joy, has been announced as one of the nominees for the esteemed Discovery Award at the upcoming Rencontres d’Arles summer photography festival in France.
The festival, known as one of Europe’s premier photography events, will take place from July 1 to September 29. The winner of the Discovery Award, which first launched in 2021, will receive €15 000.
Mazibuko has been selected from a pool of 300 applicants, and her work will be exhibited alongside other selected projects during the festival.
Her project, Ho tshepa ntshepedi ya bontshepe, considers how the political designation of ‘born-free’ has affected the post-1994 generation of South Africa’s black youth.
Derived from the Sesotho proverb meaning “to expect something that will never happen”, the work considers the paradoxical nature of this title and how, due to the structural remnants of apartheid, this freedom has not been fully realised.
Born into this generation herself, Mazibuko uses herself as subject, considering her own relationships to her community and how this has been shaped by the societal constructs she was born into.
“Her nomination for this award is a testament to her exceptional talent and the impact of her work on the global stage. As an alumna of Of Soul and Joy, she embodies the programme's mission of empowering young South Africans through creativity, using photography as a means of self-expression and social change,” says Of Soul and Joy Project Manager and Mentor, Jabulani Dhlamini.
Based in Thokoza, a township in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, Mazibuko’s journey in photography began in 2012 when she joined the Of Soul and Joy Photo Project as one of its first students, discovering her passion and talent for the medium.
Completing her studies in photography at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg in 2016, Mazibuko has had her work exhibited at the Ithuba Art Gallery in Johannesburg, The Ghent photo festival in Belgium, Gallery A MaGNIN’, The Turbine Art Fair, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Warren Editions in Cape Town, and the Addis Foto Fest in Ethiopia, amongst others.
Mazibuko also received the prestigious Tierney Fellowship in 2017 and the Prince Claus Fund grant in 2018, cementing her status as a rising star in contemporary photography.
Look at a selection of her nominated project below:
