Film-maker empowers youth via lens
AFTER a year of planning, a photography project for the youth was launched to coincide with Youth Day.
The brainchild of Pretoria-born film-maker and professional photographer Kenny D Mdluli, the initiative is titled My Hood Teen Photography Exhibition, and is destined to make a mark in the art scene.
“The country is struggling with job creation and access to tertiary education. Covid-19 made things worse, so this idea came when the lockdown ended in 2022,” Mdluli said.
“That’s when the planning started. The project aims to assist young people with skills related to photography. It seeks to empower young people with leadership skills and professionalism while they’re young.”
Mdluli is collaborating with four other professional photographers, who will be mentoring beneficiaries aged 15 to 18.
Each mentor will be responsible for five teenage photographers, who are based in the townships around Gauteng. The project aims to uplift 20 teenagers in total.
Mdluli said Gontse Molaba, Rorisang Mapena and Ruth Sibiya were some of the young photographers involved in the project.
“We are also working with other professionals based in different countries. They include Isabella Hlabangu, who shares her experience as a project manager at Hub4africa. bayern, a vocational training organisation based in Germany,” he said.
“We are collaborating with Nunu Ngema (Netherlands) as well as Derek Fowler (US), who are both established photographers.
“Lastly, we are working with Siya, known as SkyDreem who specialises in design and photo retouching. These are established and skilled people who will assist with motivation and coaching.”
The teenage photographers will receive on-the-job training and support, enabling them to capture photographs using highly sophisticated equipment.
Their mission is to approach street vendors and request to capture them as they work. In the process, the teenagers will hear about the street vendors’ background story and aspirations, exposing these young people to the world of street hustle; why people do it and how it contributes to the economy.
The teenage photographers will be involved in the process of capturing, selecting and editing photos. The images will form part of the exhibition on August 26.
“A publishing company is interested in partnering with us in creating a book that will feature the best photos taken by the youth,” said Mdluli, adding that the name of the company will be disclosed once the deal has been finalised.
The funds accumulated from the book sales will contribute to the education of the youth involved.
Mdluli added that his plan was for the initiative to mark the beginning of an annual experience.