Zanele Muholi is an artist and visual activist from Umlazi, South Africa. In their early series, Muholi captured moments of love and intimacy, as well as images that speak to the ongoing violence against LGBTQIA+ communities in South Africa, despite the promise of equality in the 1968 Constitution.
These images, coupled with first-hand testimonials, create an archive of a community of people who put their lives at risk to stand up to discrimination. Another significant series in their oeuvre is Brave Beauties, which celebrates the strength of trans women, gender non-conforming and non-binary individuals. With the Somnyama Ngonyama series, Muholi also turns the camera on themself to create compelling and introspective images that touch on topics like work, racism, Eurocentrism, and sexual politics. Muholi’s work is currently being exhibited at several locations, for example, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.