Transformation in higher education has taken centre stage in 2015. At the University of Cape Town, campus discussions have revealed perceptions of marginalization of certain groups of students. As an extension of this conversation, Dr Shose Kessi (UCT Department of Psychology) will stage a photographic exhibition on the black student experience on Upper Campus, in November. 

The exhibition is the product of a photovoice research project working with black students at the university. Photovoice is a research method that enables participants to express their points of view or ‘tell their stories’ through the medium of photography. It is an empowering methodology, particularly when working with marginalized groups. Dr. Kessi’s research project commenced in 2013 and involved the production of photographs and stories by the students themselves on their day-to-day experiences of the institution and, their views on transformation and decolonisation. 2013 and 2015 participants numbered 43 drawn from the undergraduate and postgraduate student body from five faculties. Consequently, this exhibition will feature multiples perspectives from diverse gendered, class backgrounds and identities.

“The objectives of the photovoice project are to build confidence and solidarity amongst black students and engage them to mobilise and work towards change at the University of Cape Town by raising awareness of their experiences with other students, staff and key stakeholders in the institution. The title of the exhibition Body symbolizes the common thread in the stories that they tell about UCT and beyond,” says Dr.Kessi. 

She says that the images on display will speak to the ways in which black bodies are still seen as ‘the problem’ in post-1994 South Africa. “This is reflected in the ways in which students are often subject to practices of exclusion and violence on campus. The photographers have an opportunity to describe how they navigate these spaces, reclaim their existence and talk back to racist, classist, heteronormative and patriarchal power,” she says.

The Body exhibition will be mounted in the Beattie Building on UCT Upper campus and will run from Thursday, 5th to 26th November 2015. The exhibition will be open to students, staff and members of the public.