Artist Conversation: Zanele Muholi and Mecca Jamilah Sullivan

Video (1:12:30): In celebration of World Pride in Washington D.C., we join visual activist Zanele Muholi and author Mecca Jamilah Sullivan for a conversation about Zanele’s activism and creative practice. The conversation was recorded on May 28, 2025.

[The copyright of the video above remains with the original holder and it is used here for the purpose of education, comparison and criticism only.]

About Zanele Muholi

Zanele Muholi is a South African visual activist and photographer. For over a decade they have documented Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people’s lives in various townships in South Africa. Responding to the continuing discrimination and violence faced by the LGBTQ+ community, in 2006 Muholi embarked on an ongoing project, Faces and Phases, in which they depict Black lesbian and transgender individuals. Muholi’s self-proclaimed mission is “to re-write a Black queer and trans visual history of South Africa for the world to know of our resistance and existence at the height of hate crimes in South Africa and beyond.” These arresting portraits are part of Muholi’s contribution towards a more democratic and representative South African queer history. Through this positive imagery, Muholi hopes to offset the stigma and negativity attached to queer identity in African society. – National Museum of Women in the Arts