Photography and New Media

In 1995, Positive Lives: Responses to HIV. A portable version of the South African component, by Gideon Mendel, was translated into the 11 official languages and was used extensively in community centres in the Western Cape, North Western Province and Gauteng, as well as travelling to Bamako and Dakar;

Again in 1995, the project People’s Portaits, which was organized in collaboration with the Mail and Guardian and involved the distribution of 9,000 entry forms. It toured nationally and was shown at the 1997 Edinburgh Festival;

In 1996, the Jurgen Schadeberg Retrospective;

In 1997, PhotoSynthesis was created on an invitation from the National Arts Festival to curate an exhibition of contemporary South African work that reflected the diverse trends and discourses characterising photography of the 1990s. 35 photographers were selected on the basis of submissions of work.

In 1998, Eye Africa: African Photography 1887-1998. The exhibition was curated and realised by Revue Noire in partnership with the South African National Gallery, the William Fehr Collection, La Pinacoteca de Estado de São Paulo and La Européenne de la Photographie (Paris);

In 1999, Lines of Sight: Perspectives on South African Photography. This exhibition was curated by both National Gallery and guest curators: Marilyn Martin, Cedric Nunn, Emile Maurice, Michael Godby, Zwelethu Mthethwa, Geoff Grundlingh and Kathleen Grundlingh. It was featured on the Bamako Biennale, Mali, in 2001. Also in 1999, Structures: Photographs by David Goldblatt

Re-imagining the Self: Photography after Apartheid. This was curated on invitation from Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, as the South African component of the exhibition Porträt Afrika, one of the first international attempts to present a comprehensive exhibition showcasing the development and use of photography across the African continent.

In 2001, a retrospective, Narrative, Rituals and Graven Images: A photographic commentary by Omar Badsha; Also Inferno & Paradiso, curated by Alfredo Jaar, which showcased work by eighteen of the world’s most acknowledged photojournalists, including prominent South African photographers such as Peter Magubane and Themba Hadebe; and Surviving the Lens: Photographic studies of south and east African people, 1870 – 1920;

The Decade of Democracy: South African Art 1994-2004, which included a large component of South African photography was exhibited in 2004;

In 2006, Invoice: Photographs by Santu Mofokeng, a survey of this photographer’s work; also Life and Soul, an exhibition of portraits of women by Karina Turok, and Second to None, which strongly featured photography by and about women, in commemoration of the 1956 Women’s March.

Zeitgenössische Fotokunst Aus Südafrika (Contemporary Art Photography from South Africa), was curated in 2007 on invitation from the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (NBK), Berlin. The exhibition travelled to Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Galerie der Stadt Sindelfingen and Museum Bochum, and was exhibited at ISANG in 2008 as Reality check: Contemporary South African Photography; also Ernest Cole: Chronicler in the House of Bondage, an exhibition of works in the SANG collection.

In 2008, Stephen Shore: Colouring American Photography

In 2009, The Tropics: Views from the Middle of the Globe, again featured a significant component of both South African and international photography.

1910-2010: From Pierneef to Gugulective, included numerous photos; and Borders, the 8th edition of the African Photo Biennale from the Bamako Encounters was exclusively multi-media and photography; Roger Ballen and Boarding House were all shown in 2010

The exhibitions Ernest Cole: Photographer, featuring work held in the collections of the Hasselblad Foundation, Sweden, The Indian in Drum magazine in the 1950s, and Ranjith Kally: Through the lens of Durban’s veteran photographer were all mounted in 2011.