lesbians archive own stories

By Musa Ngubane (BTM Reporter)

April 12, 2007: Lack of lesbians’ archived material in South Africa prompted photographers Jean Brundrit and Zanele Muholi to undertake a workshop entitled Making Herstory – of seven participants.

The project trains participants to acquire basic photography skills with intentions to assist them in order to be able to archive their past, present and future.

Although the project is a sequel to previous Zanele Muholi’s photography workshops, only one woman who participated in the previous ones made it into this workshop.

Chosen from among other lesbians in the country based on camera experience and usage, the seven participants were provided with cameras and camera spools on entering the project.

Sponsored by the National Research Foundation (NRF), this innovative concept is about the participants’ pictorial work of still pictures recounting their stories.

“Short term goals of the project are to produce, exhibit and publicise these photographs”, said Brundrit who is Professor of Photography at University of Stellenbosch.

Over a period of four weeks the participants are expected to capture images of their interaction with the surrounding environment they live in such as their everyday lives, work, rituals, and family activities.

During the sessions which are being held every Saturday – started early March this year at the Forum for the Empowerment of Women (FEW), the participants circulate their photographs taken in the process and discuss the issues and themes they illustrate.

At the end of the project, copies of the photographs with their stories and themes underlying will be flaunted at various galleries in South Africa.

Brundrit believes that the exhibitions of this project will stimulate discussions around sexuality.

“Long term goals for the project are to create lesbian visibility in the South African society”, she explained.

According to one of the participants, Nokuzola Raqola, the project is very intriguing and challenging. “I had to go back into my past – the time when I was living in the closet and did not really understand my sexual orientation, which was a very sad time”, she asserted.