ARTS AND CULTURE
Working with Casa Santa Ana and in conjunction with Panama’ s Ministry of Culture, Zanele Muholi shares important pieces from their ongoing series Somnyama Ngonyama( Hail the Dark Lioness) and Faces and Phases, curated by Ruth Motau. The exhibition is open until April 19, 2026, giving a global stage to people and stories that are often overlooked.
Each portrait shows a unique moment, reminding us that identity, dignity, and survival are always changing.
Started in 2006, Muholi’ s Faces and Phases now includes over 600 works that document and celebrate the lives of Black lesbians, transgender people, and gender-nonconforming people in South Africa, Panama, the United Kingdom, the United States, Portugal, and Brazil.
“’ Faces’ refers to the subjects themselves;‘ phases’ signals transitions in sexuality, gender expression, ageing, education, work, and marriage,” Muholi explains.
Muholi turned the camera inward with highcontrast self-portraits that reclaim Blackness and challenge racial politics and representation. Using everyday materials such as clothing pegs, toothpaste, Vaseline, and plastic, Muholi constructs improvised archetypes that tell personal and collective histories of exclusion, displacement, and systemic racism.“ Portraiture is my daily prayer,” they reflect.“ This is no longer about me; it is about every female body that ever existed in my family. I never imagined that these dreams were possible.”
Muholi adds,“ Amalanga awafani( days are not the same) reminds us that no two days carry the same weight. In Panama, through these portraits and this gathering of voices and bodies, we assert presence, complexity, and joy in the face of erasure. I am deeply grateful to Casa Santa Ana for creating space for this conversation to unfold.”
The exhibitions feature a performance combining South African operatic voice with contemporary dance, choreographed by Lusanda Dayimani, reflecting Muholi’ s dedication to interdisciplinary art that merges visual, sonic, and kinetic experiences.
Amalanga awafani offers a journey beyond photography, sparking a powerful conversation about identity, memory, and visibility. From striking self-portraits to vibrant celebrations of Black queer lives worldwide, Muholi’ s work becomes both a living archive and a bold act of resistance and affirmation. IB
Pic credit: Christopher Wormald
“ 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 Somnyama Ngonyama, initiated in 2012,
ABOUT ZANELE MUHOLI
Zanele Muholi is a South African visual activist whose photographic practice centres on Black LGBTQIA + lives. Their work has been exhibited internationally, including at Tate Modern, the Venice Biennale, and Documenta. Muholi is the founder of the Muholi Art Institute( MAI).
MARCH 2026 / INBOUND SA 29