South African artist Zanele Muholi (they/them pronouns) prefers to be known as an activist first and artist second. In 2002 they co-founded the Forum for the Empowerment of Women (FEW) in Johannesburg. After earning a degree in advanced photography at the Market Photo Workshop in Newtown, Johannesburg, in 2003, Muholi completed an MFA in documentary media at Ryerson University, Toronto, in 2009.

Since their first solo exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery in 2004, Muholi has described their artistic practice as “visual activism.” This idea is perhaps best understood through “Faces and Phases” (2006 to present), an ongoing series of photographic portraits that positively represents members of Africa’s LGBTQIA+ community. Begun in response to a growing wave of anti-queer hate crimes in South Africa, this series also addresses the absence of queer people in the visual archive. Muholi writes, “It is important to mark, map, and preserve our mo(ve)ments through visual histories for reference and posterity so that future generations will note that we were here.” In addition to their photography, Muholi is known for Difficult Love (2010), an autobiographical documentary about their life as a Black, lesbian artist in South Africa.

Muholi, who lives in Johannesburg, has shown their work in museums around the world and received awards including France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2017) and a Humanitarian Award from the Lucie Foundation (2019). In 2021, Muholi organized arts workshops for underprivileged South African children in conjunction with their international exhibition, Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail, the Dark Lioness).