#sipho mpongo

[manufactoriel]

“I'm sexy and I know it” Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2014, by Sipho Mpongo 

[curating-africa]

SIPHO MPONGO | PHOTOGRAPHER TO WATCH

Sipho Mpongo is the first South African to be awarded the sought after Magnum Foundation “Human Rights” fellowship in New York.

This year the 22-year-old photographer from Langa, Cape Town, was chosen to be one of seven participants in the six-week Photography & Human Rights programme at New York University.

Sipho’s love for photography started in primary school when he was using his mothers cellphone to take pictures and in a few weeks time he’ll be travelling the world as a documentary photographer.

“I live with my mother’s family in a shared flat with two different families,” explains Sipho. “I am the only one in my family who has made it to university. I love telling people stories; most importantly stories about the contemporary issues in South Africa and around the world… I am a young black South African trying to understand my country and myself… The pictures I produce are a way of liberating myself and people around me.”

[10and5]

21 year old Sipho Mpongo is the first South African photographer to be awarded a fellowship by the renowned Magnum Foundation. Throughout 2014 he travelled across the country with Sean Meterlerkamp and Wikus de Wet for the Twenty Journey, using his lens to explore what it means to be born free in South Africa today. The young photographer is currently in New York to partake in Magnum’s six week human rights program alongside six other participants. From taking pictures on his aunt’s camera in primary school to pursuing his passion across the globe, Sipho shares his experience in a short film by Ginkgo Agency that tells an inspiring story of promise. WATCH: http://10and5.com/2015/06/23/young-photographer-sipho-mpongo-goes-to-new-york-as-a-magnum-human-rights-fellow/

[hyperallergic]

The Magnum Foundation announced its 2015 Human Rights Fellows last month. The seven recipients are: Basel Alyazouri, 19, Palestine; Xyza Cruz Bacani, 27, Philippines; Nour Kelze, 27, Syria; Sipho Mpongo, 21, South Africa; Chery Dieu Nalio, 33, Haiti; Anastasia Vlasova, 22, Ukraine; and Muyi Xiao, 23, China.

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[10and5]

Tony Gum photographed in studio by Sipho Mpongo. Via Oh Wow!