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The Market Photo Workshop is set to be presented with the 2018 Principal Prince Claus Award by the Royal family of the Netherlands in December, which includes bagging a whopping €100 000 (about R1.75 million).
The award, which sets to honour outstanding achievements in the field of culture and development, is presented annually to groups and organisations who have impacted positively on societal development.
“The Market Photo Workshop stands to honour the legacy of its founder, David Goldblatt, and now under the leadership of Lekgetho Makola, the Market Photo Workshop continues to break new ground as it develops innovative methodology that combines technical training with social consciousness raising and extends its presence through collaborations and exchanges that extend into the continent,” said Ismail Mahomed, the chief executive of the Market Theatre Foundation.
Renowned choreographer Dada Masilo will also be awarded the 2018 Prince Claus Next Generation Award.
Masilo has helped to shape the dance culture by deconstructing classic ballets into authentic African dance, and has challenged gender stereotypes, race and class through her modernist interpretations of the classics.
“I would like congratulate both the Market Photo Workshop and Dada Masilo on this incredible achievement. They were selected out of a group of 85 other individuals and projects – all equally deserving.
"Ms Masilo and the Market Photo Workshop are shining examples of the richness of South Africa’s cultural and artistic expression and possibility” said Han Peters, the ambassador designate of the Netherlands to South Africa.
The Workshop has served as a training institute of the Market Theatre Foundation since its inception in 1989, and was the first South African institute to provide photographic training, equipment and support to black South African photographers during the apartheid era.
This in turn paved the way for black perspectives to be given a voice, which showcased the lived realities and injustices of apartheid through striking images.
Some of its famed graduates include multi-award winning visual activist and photographer Zanele Muholi and acclaimed documentary photographer Sabelo Mlangeni.
“It is an honour to be a leader of such a critical space in our times globally.
"A space that has a significant legacy built by dedicated practitioners who are themselves pushing boundaries and impacting society in a progressive way through their artistic practices.
"Dedicated staff and funders that maintain relevance in the Market Photo Workshop, and most importantly students and alumnus whose compelling work mirrors the ethos of the space.” said Lekgetho Makola
Makola added that one of the many highlights that the workshop had seen was the introduction of the structured multi-level courses during the early 2000s, which was led by former head of workshop, John Fleetwood.
“The Market Photo Workshop has a bigger role to play in the development of new ways of looking at learning and teaching in our decolonial era in South Africa, including creation of the photography public engagement programming strategy that emphasises active presence throughout the continent as the Pan-African photography resource centre,” Makola said.
Makola has big plans for the prestigious prize money, including the development of a photography archives resource centre.
“[Further expansion of] the Alumnus Photography Awards and a fellowship programme for scholars, researchers, curators and practitioners, as well as the regional photography scholarship programme” are also on the cards.
