The Market Photo Workshop is a school of

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

, a gallery, and a project space in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa, founded in 1989 by

David Goldblatt David Goldblatt HonFRPS (29 November 1930 – 25 June 2018) was a South African documentary Photographer noted for his dedicated portrayal of the South African peoples within the political landscape of the apartheid era.Weinberg, Paul.David ...

. It offers training in visual literacy for neglected and marginalized parts of South African society. Its courses are short foundation and intermediate, as well as longer advanced, and in

photojournalism Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

and

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

. The Market Photo Workshop is a division of the Market Theatre Foundation.

Remit

The Market Photo Workshop offers training in visual literacy for neglected and marginalized parts of South African society. Early on, its visual output focused on

social documentary photography Social documentary photography or concerned photography is the recording of what the world looks like, with a social and/or environmental focus. It is a form of documentary photography, with the aim to draw the public's attention to ongoing social ...

, but has now expanded to include "more expressive, conceptual, and self oriented or community-focused work". "At its core,

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

sought to create a black underclass denied of any imaginative agency. Imagination, therefore, is necessarily subversive. To focus only on technique, without cultivating a critical vocabulary of image-making, would have reinforced the logic of apartheid, which accommodated for low-level black artisans."

Courses

*Foundation Course in Photography – 3 months, full-time *Intermediate Course in Photography – 3 months, full-time *Advanced Programme in Photography – 20 weeks, full-time *

Photojournalism Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

and

Documentary Photography Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life. It is typically undertaken as professional ph ...

Programme – 1 year, full-time

History

The Market Photo Workshop has its origins in

curating a photography exhibition in the Market Theatre for its opening in 1976, continuing to host exhibitions there in the 1970s and 1980s, and eventually setting up a small gallery there. In order to set up Market Photo Workshop, Jeremy Ractliffe, father of photographer Jo Ractliffe, secured funding from the DG Murray Trust. The Market Photo Workshop opened in what had been the Newtown post office in Bree Street. It has since moved twice within Newtown, most recently to Lilian Ngoyi Street. A public gallery space was launched in 2005 called The Photo Workshop Gallery. Since moving to Lilian Ngoyi Street, an additional gallery has been added, Gallery 1989. It shows the work of both local and international photographers. John Fleetwood ran the school from 2002 to 2015. Lekgetho James Makola is its current director. Since 2005, the Market Theatre Foundation has been administered by the national government's

Department of Arts and Culture The Department of Arts and Culture was until 2019 a department of the South African government. It was responsible for promoting, supporting, developing and protecting the arts, culture and heritage of South Africa. The heritage sites, museums a ...

Alumni

* Jodi Bieber * John Fleetwood * Lebohang Kganye *

Phumzile Khanyile Phumzile Khanyile (born 1991) is a South African photographer, living in Johannesburg. Her series ''Plastic Crowns'' is about women's lives and sexual politics. The series has been shown in group exhibitions at the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval ...

Sabelo Mlangeni Sabelo Mlangeni is a South African photographer living and working in Johannesburg, South Africa. His photography is focused on depictions of communities. Mlangeni's work is held in the collections of Tate, the Art Institute of Chicago, the San F ...

* Mimi Cherono Ng'ok * Thabiso Sekgala * Lindokuhle Sobekwa *

Zanele Muholi Zanele Muholi (born 1972) is a South African artist and visual activist working in photography, video, and installation. Muholi's work focuses on race, gender and sexuality with a body of work that dates back to the early 2000s, documenting and ...

Nontsikelelo Veleko Nontsikelelo "Lolo" Veleko (born 19 August 1977) is a South African photographer most noted for her depiction of black identity, urbanisation and fashion in post-apartheid South Africa. Early life and education Veleko was born on (19 August 1 ...

References

External links

* {{Greater Johannesburg, culture Arts organisations based in South Africa 1989 establishments in South Africa Art museums and galleries established in 2005 Art museums and galleries in South Africa Photography museums and galleries in South Africa South African photography organisations Book publishing companies of South Africa Visual arts publishing companies 21st-century architecture in South Africa Art in Johannesburg