Umuzi Photo Club

Umuzi aspires to equip learners with practical skills in photography and visual literacy in an entertaining and participatory manner. Through interactive workshops, learners are introduced to photography basics and visual literacy, as well as social awareness and activism. At each workshop, they receive their own film cameras, which they carry for a week, playing the role of a documentary photographer.

The Umuzi workshops teach students to use photography as a tool for creative expression by grounding their lessons in the stories of the students' lives. The young photographers learn to create compelling compositions by building narratives around the issues that they face every day – including HIV and AIDS, teen pregnancy, poverty, and the lack of basic services. In following workshops, participants scrutinise their prints, through classroom discussion and peer critiquing, to build a portfolio of their favourite work, which is bound into an album which they keep. These discussions also often spark conversations about difficult social issues.

The organisation operates out of four schools. Barnato Park High School is located in the middle of Hillbrow and is the largest inner-city school in South Africa. Learners who attend the high school come from communities all over Johannesburg, including Hillbrow itself and Soweto. Kwena Molapo High School educates learners from grades 8 to 12, aged 14 to 18 years. There are 640 learners, the majority of whom are from very economically poor families. Karabo Primary School educates learners up to grade 4, aged 5 to 11 years. There are 350 learners of which 30% come from Tladi informal settlement and lack proper housing. In addition, many have been orphaned by AIDS and are cared for by their grandmothers or older siblings. Zifuneleni Junior Secondary School is located in Orlando East, Soweto and educates learners from grades 7 to 9. Of the over 850 young people who attend the school, 80% are from severely impoverished households, too poor to afford school fees. The school runs a feeding scheme for its students to which the principal and teaching staff make personal contributions.

Photography exhibitions of club members' are held periodically at galleries in South Africa, the United States, and Europe with the intention of selling high-quality prints. The proceeds support the funding of development projects identified by the schools. Projects funded by student exhibits include new library content at Karabo Primary School and a functioning plumbing system at Kwena Molapo High School, giving the school running water for the first time.

Aside from raising funds and helping young people to better understand their world, organisers say the practical skills taught by the photo club are invaluable in a community with high levels of unemployment. Umuzi has enrolled a small group of students in courses at the Johannesburg College of Digital Photography, where they can deepen their technical expertise. The photo programme covers tuition and transportation costs for each of these students.

Photos, videos, and news about the club can be viewed on the Umuzi Photo Club blog.

For more information, contact:
David Dini
Umuzi Photo Club
South Africa
Tel: +27 73 341 4576
Umuzi Photo Club blog
umuziphotoclub@gmail.com

Children, Youth