Zanele Muholi's exhibition at Bildmuseet, Sweden, contains over one hundred photographs and series from the early 2000s until today. Exhibition photo: Mikael Lundgren.
Zanele Muholi's exhibition at Bildmuseet, Sweden, contains over one hundred photographs and series from the early 2000s until today. Exhibition photo: Mikael Lundgren.

Press release -

Bildmuseet presents Zanele Muholi

Zanele Muholi is one of the most acclaimed photographers working today. The extensive exhibition at Bildmuseet presents their career as a photographer and visual activist from the early 2000s until today.

Press preview on Thursday 25 November at 10:00 (RSVP). Welcome by Director Katarina Pierre followed by a presentation by Curator Yasufumi Nakamori, Tate Modern. On the same occasion, Iwo Myrin’s upcoming exhibition will also be presented. Individual digital tours and interviews are given on request during the day.

In beautiful and striking photographs, Muholi tells the stories of Black LGBTQIA+ lives in South Africa and beyond. Their work includes depictions of love and intimacy as well as intense portraits of people who risk their lives to live authentically despite oppression and discrimination.

Muholi became known globally with Faces and Phases, their pioneering portrait photography of South Africa’s LGBTQIA+ communities, which currently totals 500+ works. In the ongoing series Somnyama Ngonyama [Hail the Dark Lioness], Muholi turns the camera on themself. With references to family history and depiction of the black body through the ages, the artist stages themself, over and over again.

Zanele Muholi was born in 1972 in Umlazi, Durban, and lives in Johannesburg. Muholi sees their practice as visual activism to effect social change. They has received a large number of awards for their photography, and their work has experienced global exposure at leading art museums and biennials, such as Tate Modern, London (2020-21), Seattle Art Museum (2019), Guggenheim, New York (2019), Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires (2018), Durban Art Gallery (2017), the São Paolo Biennial (2010), documenta 13 (2012), the Venice Biennale (2019), and the Biennale of Sydney (2020). Muholi co-founded the Forum of Empowerment of Women (FEW) in 2002, and founded Inkanyiso in 2009, a forum for queer visual activist media.

The exhibition is organised by the Tate Modern in London in collaboration with Bildmuseet, Umeå, Gropius Bau in Berlin and Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris. Curator: Yasufumi Nakamori. Curators for the presentation at Bildmuseet: Katarina Pierre and Brita Täljedal.

The exhibition catalogue includes an interview with Zanele Muholi by Museum Director Katarina Pierre, Bildmuseet, as well as texts by Sarah Allen, Pamella Dlungwana, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Candice Jansen, Sindiwe Magona, Renée Mussai and Yasufumi Nakamori.

Press preview / Thursday 25 November at 10:00 (RSVP)
Welcome by Director Katarina Pierre, Bildmuseet, followed by a presentation by Curator Yasufumi Nakamori, Tate Modern. Individual digital tours and interviews are given on request during the day.
Press images: https://www.bildmuseet.umu.se/en/press/press-images
On the same occasion, Iwo Myrins upcoming exhibition will also be presented.

Exhibition opening / Saturday 27 November at 14:00
Curator of the Zanele Muholi exhibition, Yasufumi Nakamori, Tate Modern, gives a presentation. Opened at the same event is Iwo Myrin’s exhibition Memories from the Taiga.

The exhibition runs until 8 May, 2022.

Further information
Museum curator Brita Täljedal, Bildmuseet
brita.taljedal@bildmuseet.umu.se, +46 90-786 7714

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Bildmuseet is one of Sweden’s foremost venues for international contemporary art and visual culture. The exhibitions are produced in collaboration with artists, museums and universities worldwide, and often attract both national and international attention. As a visitor, you are invited to participate in guided tours and creative workshops, listen to artist talks, debates, lectures and live music, watch film screenings and attend other events.

Housed in an acclaimed building at the Umeå Arts Campus, right next to the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts, Umeå Institute of Design and Umeå School of Architecture, Bildmuseet is a part of Umeå University – one of Sweden's largest institutions of higher learning with over 35000 students and 4,000 employees. It is a multifaced university where studies and research within the creative realm make up an important part of the university's cornerstone.

Contacts

Helena Vejbrink

Helena Vejbrink

Communication officer Bildmuseet +46 90 786 9073

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