Makhaza Youth
These are portraits of 2010 Ikamva Youth media expression participants from Makhaza, Khayelitsha. They were exhibited as part of a mobile phone photography exhibition entitled “I wnt u gal 2.jpg” by Ikamva Youth and Dr. Marion Walton. This was presented at the University of Cape Town as part of the Festival of Desire, organised by the UCT Youth Forum.
Ikamva Youth is a NGO that connects youth from disadvantaged communities to knowledge, skills, networks and resources to access tertiary education and/or employment opportunities once they matriculate. This volunteer run NGO also offers media expression projects, tutoring, mentoring and a HIV programme.
Through interviewing these teenagers about their mobile phone photography, I learnt a little about their personalities, aspirations and desires. The portraits were shot in and aound the Nazeema Isaacs Library. The mural that is the backdrop to some of the portraits, is a memorial to Mphumzi Klaas, a volunteer who was murdered in 2011. The mural was created by Ricky Lee Gordon, Veronica and Vumanizumu.
