Category Archives: Speaking for ourselves

2015 Sept. 1: Mr & Miss LGBTI Daveyton 2015

by Sicka ‘Sharon’ Mthunzi What a “turn up” as we say when an event is supported by many. People came in all shapes and sizes, from the ladies in their gorgeous dresses to the gentleman with their smart casual wear. … Continue reading

Posted in Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Creating awareness, Expression, Power of the Voice, Records and histories, Representing, Responsibility, Self recognition, Sexual orientation, Sharing knowledge, Sharing thoughts, Social responsibility, Solution, Somizy Sincwala, South Africa, South African townships, Speaking for ourselves, Supporters, Supportive friends and families, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Thoughts, Time, Together we can, Togetherness, Townships, Transformation, Treasure, We Are You, We Care, We Still Can with/out Resources, Writing is a Right, Youth voices | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2015 July 10: How it all started

by Sharon “Sicka” Mthunzi It all started with a ‘selfie’ captured using my cell phone. I remember I used to look in the mirror with a phone on my left hand, and take pictures of myself. Before the birth of … Continue reading

Posted in Being, being loved, Bringing photography to the community, Commitment, Faces and Phases participant, hip-hop artist, Hope, Human Beings, I use CANON, I was (T)here, I was here, Life, Life is a production..., Life lived, Mamela Nyamza, Moments, Mr Les Daveyton 2013, Patience, Portraits of the Self, Portraiture series, Positive images, Power of the Voice, Powerful, Public spaces, Queer visibility, question of history., Re-presentation, Readings, Realities, Reality, Recognition, Recording, Reflections, Relationships, Remembering, Reminiscing, Representation, Respect, Respected person, Responsibility, revolution, Sameness, Scripted, Self, Self discovery, Self love, Self portraits, Self recognition, Self-worth, Sexual Liberation, Sexual orientation, Sexuality, Sharing, Sharing information, Sharing knowledge, Sharing thoughts, Silent voices, So much love, Solidarity, Solution, South Africa, South African townships, South African visual history through the eyes of young women, Speaking for ourselves, Statement, Strength, Supporting each other, Survived, Texts, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Together we can, Togetherness, Touching, Treasure, Trust, Understanding, Unique, Vision, Visual activism, Visual Arts, Visual democracy, Visual diaries, We Are You, We Care, We Still Can with/out Resources, Young Women and Visual Activism, Youth voices | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2015 May 28: Day Two in London

  by Dalisu Ngobese Just two days in and I find myself giving another lost noob directions around London district, classic case of the blind leading the blind. I think it was beginner’s luck though, the guy just happened to be … Continue reading

Posted in Allies, canon 7d camera, Dalisu Ngobese, Dinner, Documenting, Excitement, Friendships, From Durban to London, Happiness, Photographer, Respect, Speaking for ourselves, Special event, Subject of Art, Support, Support is the system, Travelogue, Videographer, We Love Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2015 May 6: Photos from Queer Futures by Adejoke Tugbiyele

The Pen World Voices Festival of International Literature runs May 4-10. “Queer Futures” takes place Wednesday, May 6, 6–7:30 p.m. at the Sheen Center Loretto Auditorium, 18 Bleecker Street, New York City   Queer Futures panel moderated by Shireen Hassim featuring … Continue reading

Posted in Audience, From New York with love, Photographs, Photography as a therapy, Politics of existence, Positive images, Power of the Voice, Present, Queer Power, Queer texts, Queer visibility, Questioning, Questions and Answers, Re-presentation, Readings, Reality, Reason, ReClaim Your Activism, Records and histories, Reflections, Relationships, Relatives, Remembering, Speaking for ourselves, Texts, Touch | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2015 Mar.3: A Letter to my Mother

by Sicka ‘Shaz’ Mthunzi Imbokodo is what she is, a mother that I love and respect more than anything in the world. She has the strength of 10 men and a heart full of life and love. She is my … Continue reading

Posted in Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Creating awareness, Existence, Experience, Exploration, Exposure, Expression, Facilitation, Facing You, Faith, Families and Friends, Family, Homosexuality, Human Beings, Human rights, I Am, I am Somebody, I love photography, I was (T)here, Knowledge, Power of the Voice, Powerful, Queer visibility, question of history., Reality, Realization, Recognition, Recording, Records and histories, Reflections, Relationships, relative, Representation, Representing, Respect, Respect & Recognition from our community, Response, revolution, Self love, Self portraits, Self recognition, Sexual orientation, Sexuality, Sharing, Sharing information, Sharing knowledge, Sharing thoughts, Social responsibility, South Africa, Speaking for ourselves, Stories, Strength, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Together we can, Togetherness, Touch, Touching, Treasure, Voice, Warmth, We Are You, We Care, We love each other, We love photographs, We Love Photography, We Still Can with/out Resources, We were (t)here, Writing is a Right, Writing matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

2015 Feb. 25: Self Portrait of the visual activist

Camera used:  iPhone 5S Location: Foreign Ministry office, Oslo. Norway. “The true content of a photograph is invisible, for it derives from a play, not with form, but with time”. – John Berger (Understanding a Photograph)        

Posted in Bringing photography to the community, Give children cameras not candies, Motivation, Penetrating mainstream spaces, South African Visible Arts, Speaking for ourselves, Statement, Stylish, Subject of Art, Subjects, Success, Survived, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Visual history is a Right not a luxury, Visual narratives, Visual Power, Visual sense, Visualizing our lives, Visuals, Voice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2015 Feb. 16: VMCI is a home away from home

by Tinashe Wakapila Red, Black and White are always the best definition of love and sharing. On February 15, members of Victory Ministries Church International (VMCI) looked bright, while wearing these colours. They were commemorating Valentine’s Day, which was celebrated … Continue reading

Posted in Celebrating 2015 Valentine's Day at VMCI, Consideration, Conversation, Photography, Solidarity, South African Visual Activism, Speaking for ourselves, Stories, Struggles, Style, Support is the system, Testimonies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

2015 Jan.15: Committed Union… 6 months later

by Vuyisile Shabalala Our journey as a committed couple planning our wedding has come into being. Being engaged to a person like Happy Mchunu makes it easy. She fulfils me and completes my entire existence. Compromises and understanding plays a huge … Continue reading

Posted in Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Creating awareness, Durban, Expression, Lesbian, Power of the Voice, Queer visibility, Relationships, Relatives, revolution, South Africa, Speaking for ourselves, Strength, Struggling, Style, Supporting each other, Teachings, Texts, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Thankful, Through thick and thin, together, Together we can, Touching, Townships, Understanding, Visibility, Visual Arts, Visual democracy, Visual historical initiative, Visual history is a Right not a luxury, Visual Language, Visual narratives, Visual Power, Visual sense, Visual Voices, Visualizing our lives, Visualizing public spaces, Visuals, Voice, We Are You, We Care, We Still Can with/out Resources, Writing is a Right, Writing matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2015 Jan. 5: An ally shares her perspective

Book Review When I started reading the book I had already received a review from my cousin. At first it was hard not to look and read it using the glasses that she provided. My wish was to read it … Continue reading

Posted in 20 Years of Democracy in SA, 8 years, Academics, Act, Acting, Activism, Activists, Activists Act, Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Art Is A Human Right, Art is Queer, Art Solidarity, Article, Articles, Articulation, As we are, Author, Background, Beautiful faces, Beautiful people, Before You, Being, Being conscientized, Being heard, Black & White, Black bodies, Black lesbian activism, Black Lesbian Love, Black lesbian visibility, Book, Book Review, Community education, Community outreach, Consideration, Education, Faces and Phases (2006-14), Freedom, Loved, Magnitude, Motshidisi Mabalane, Oppression, Previous links, Protecting, Published by Steidl, Reviewers, She, Speaking for ourselves, Statement, Success, Supporting each other, Texts, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Time, Timing, together, Together we can, Togetherness, Visual Arts, Visual democracy, Visual diaries, Visual historical initiative, Visual history, Visual history is a Right not a luxury, Visual Language, Visual Power, Visual sense, Visual Voices, Visualizing our lives, Visualizing public spaces, Visuals, We Are You, We Care, We love each other, We love photographs, We Love Photography, Womyn, Words, Writing is a Right | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2015 Jan. 3: I dropped out of the closet many times

“It is a story about my coming out, its more significant than any part of my life history” Being who I am should not compromise who you are. The road to coming out was not easy. I was born in … Continue reading

Posted in Another Approach Is Possible, Archived memories, Beatings, Creating awareness, Expression, Eyes, Face, Faces & Phases portraits, Faces and Phases (2006 - 2014), Gratitude, Gratitude to my lover, Inner feelings, Insulted, Interaction, Interpretation, Intervention, Irritation, Issues of sexuality, Knowledge, Language, Lesbian, Lessons learnt, Life, Life is a production..., Life lived, Life Stories, Life story, Live, Living, Living by example, Longing, Look at me, Loss to the black lesbian community, Lost Lives, Love is a human right, Love is Queer, Loved, Lovely words, Mainstream media, Mainstream spaces, Mainstreaming our queer issues, Making a mark, Memories, Moments, Moments in herstory, My body, My life in short, Nasty, Nature, Participants, Participation, Patience, Personification, Photo Expressions, Pleased, Political space, Politics of existence, Portraiture series, Power of the Voice, Powerful, Presentations, Pressure, Previous life stories, Privilege, Proud lesbian, Proud to be, Queer & Straights, Queer Africans speaking for themselves., Queer Power, Queer visibility, Queer Zimbabwe, Questions, Questions and Answers, Readers, Readings, Real, Reality, Realization, Reason, ReClaim Your Activism, Recognition, recognized, Recognizing the problem, Recording, Records and histories, Reflection, Reflections, Related links, Relationship, Relationship with own body, Relationships, relative, Relatives, Remembering, Reminiscing, Report, Representation, Representing, Resentments, Respect, Respect & Recognition from our community, Respected person, Response, Reviews, Reviving the culture of reading and writing, revolution, Rumours, safe, Scared, Scripted, Scriptures, Sexual orientation, Sexuality, Sharing, Sharing knowledge, Silence, Smile, Solidarity, Solution, South Africa, South African Black Female Photographers, South African townships, Speaking for ourselves, Statement, Straights, Struggles, Struggling, Suffered, Supporters, Supporting each other, Supportive friends and families, Survived, Teachings, Tears, Texts, Textualizing Our Own Lives, Thankful, Time, Timing, together, Together we can, Togetherness, Touching, Transformation, Transparency, Trust, Tshona is a Zimbabwean language, violation of rights, Violence, Visibility, Vision, Visual activism, Visual activism is a language, Visual democracy, Visual diaries, Visual historical initiative, Visual history, Visual history is a Right not a luxury, Visual Language, Visual narratives, Visual Power, Visual sense, Visual Voices, Visualizing our lives, Visualizing public spaces, Visuals, We Are You, We Care, We love photographs, We Love Photography, We Still Can with/out Resources, Weeping, When home is a crime scene, When Love is a Human Right, Where & Who is Justice?, Writing is a Right, Zimbabwe | 22 Comments