Zanele Muholi and the long arc of Kanye Nawe
Published on 08/22/2026 at 15:25 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Zanele Muholi has built Kanye Nawe into a multi-venue survey of more than twenty years of visual activism, portraiture and sculptural work. The current Cape Town chapter at Southern Guild runs from July 18 to September 10, 2026, as the gallery states in its exhibition announcement.
The arc of Kanye Nawe
The Cape Town iteration of Kanye Nawe at Southern Guild gathers photographs, bronze sculptures and the documentary Difficult Love, turning the Silo 5 space at the V&A Waterfront into what Muholi describes as a living archive of Black queer life.Southern Guild exhibition text
Running from July 18 to September 10, 2026, the show marks the twentieth anniversary of Muholi's portrait project Faces and Phases, begun in 2006 as a sustained effort to record Black lesbians, trans men and gender-nonconforming people in South Africa and beyond.Mail & Guardian feature on Kanye Nawe
Retrospective threads and new work
Across its current manifestations, Kanye Nawe weaves early series such as Only Half the Picture, Being and Mo(u)rning together with later projects including Liza, ZaVa, the ongoing self-portrait cycle Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness) and recent bronze sculptures.
Southern Guild underscores that this convergence of series is not a static retrospective but an evolving project; new portraits and sculptural works enter the exhibition as Muholi expands their visual activism and deepens the archive of Black queer visibility in South Africa.Southern Guild artist page
All news and background on Zanele Muholi
Readers can follow further reporting on Zanele Muholi's exhibitions, awards and long-running work groups in the AD HOC NEWS archive.
The work core and key series
Muholi describes themselves as a visual activist, not simply a photographer, anchoring their work in community organizing and testimonial practice around Black LGBTQIA+ lives in South Africa.Photography-now artist overview
The portrait series Faces and Phases has grown into hundreds of images over two decades, while Somnyama Ngonyama pushes self-portraiture into sharply contrasted black-and-white close-ups that confront histories of racialized representation and domestic labor.
Where the artist stands now
Zanele Muholi's practice currently centers on the expansion of Kanye Nawe and related series across multiple venues, with the Cape Town exhibition at Southern Guild running within the present 30-day window.
Zanele Muholi at a glance
- Artist: Zanele Muholi
- Medium / Genre: Photography and sculpture (visual activism)
- Born: 1972, Umlazi, South Africa
- Place(s) of practice: Cape Town and Johannesburg
- Active since: Early 2000s, with Faces and Phases initiated in 2006
- Key work groups: Faces and Phases, Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness), Only Half the Picture, Kanye Nawe
- Current/last exhibition: Kanye Nawe, Southern Guild Cape Town, July 18 - September 10, 2026
- Major collections: Tate (London), MoMA (New York), Brooklyn Museum (New York), SFMOMA (San Francisco)
- Awards: Hasselblad Award 2026
- Next date: Currently no announced date in the 30-day window
Frequently asked questions about Zanele Muholi
Where can I see Zanele Muholi's work from the Kanye Nawe cycle?
The most recent major presentation of Kanye Nawe is at Southern Guild in Cape Town's Silo District, running from July 18 to September 10, 2026, and occupying the full gallery space.
What makes the Faces and Phases series central to Muholi's practice?
Faces and Phases is a twenty year project documenting Black lesbians, trans men and gender-nonconforming people, conceived as a living archive that counters erasure and foregrounds community resilience.
Which institutions have mounted large-scale exhibitions of Zanele Muholi's work?
Major surveys have appeared at Tate Modern in London, Gropius Bau in Berlin, SFMOMA in San Francisco and are scheduled for FOTO ARSENAL WIEN, reflecting the institutional recognition of Muholi's visual activism.
This article was produced with a.i. support and editorially reviewed. All statements without guarantee; auction results, exhibition dates and awards may change at short notice.
