I am making a picture is a year-long cross-cultural dialogue between two schools, one in a small countryside village in Germany and one in a large inner city area in South Africa. A group of 16 to 18-year-old students from each school apply to be part of the project where they delve into concepts of decolonization and stereotypical imagery. They break down their preconceptions and find common ground.

I was brought into this project as the South African facilitator along with 2 social workers, another photographer, and a multimedia specialist. We collaborated with the school in Delft to encourage students to explore their communities and identities.

Teen Photo-Workshop delving into the basics of photography from lighting to framing, from shutter speed to ISO. As with all As We Are photo workshops, skills are learned through the lens of exploration of identity and community.

Projects build from one week to the next encouraging investigation and discussion about how we connect to our immediate and larger communities. Collaborating with a social worker throughout the course, this beginner photography workshop focuses on teenagers giving them space to voice their own narratives.

SYNECDOCHE

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole

Lapland’s Santa, Transylvania’s Dracula, Route 66’s Diners, Californian dreamers, the Carribean beaches are widely accepted synecdoches.

Mass tourism encourages millions to seek new worlds but fails to connect the people that it binds. Playing with entrenched preconceptions this industry reduces culture to a mere part of a whole.

Being brought onto the WeTopia project as a documentary maker and photo facilitator has been one of my highlights.

GIRLS MAKE THE CITY is a Wetopia Project with a regenerative development approach, executed under the custodianship of Open Design Afrika and in collaboration with other Wetopian partners in Cape Town.

LAPLAND, ARCTIC FINLAND

LAPLAND, FINNISH ARCTIC