Zanele Muholi: Giving a voice to South Africa’s black LGBTQI+ community

Meet Zanele Muholi, the pioneering non-binary visual activist from South Africa, who wants to give the marginalised a place in history with their powerful portraits of the black LGBTQI+ community in South Africa.

Marking a major retrospective of their work at London’s Tate Modern, reporter Mpho Lakaje joins the artist in Johannesburg and Durban as they work on their series “Faces and Phases”. This evolving photographic record is part of Muholi’s life’s work, to map and preserve an often invisible community, while addressing the serious issue of hate crime in South Africa and its neighbouring countries, where the stigma of being queer can often lead to rape, violence, and murder.

Mpho follows Muholi as they capture images, interview participants and hear their stories before creating striking and challenging images in black and white, highlighting and celebrating the beauty of black skin.

Presenter: Mpho Lakaje
Producer: Edwina Pitman and Ella-mai Robey for the BBC World Service