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CLASS OF 2021

DeLovie Kwagala

BIOGRAPHY

DeLovie Kwagala is non-binary, self-taught photographer and social activist from Kampala, Uganda and currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa whose process combines portraiture and documentary photography techniques to explore narratives around Identity, belonging, social injustices and gender Sexuality (inspired by their experience and those of others) DeLovie is a current WomenPhotograph Mentee, A Market Photo Workshop student pursuing Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Program. A CAP PRIZE 2021 shortlisted photographer, published by the Guardian, and the Washington post, IWMF gender justice reporting fellow and World Press Photo 6*6 Global talent 2020 nominee, they have won the African Photographers Residency 2021 with F2Foto Festival in Dortmund, Germany, New Generation Honorable mention from the PH Museum 2021 grants and are featured as a 1 of 10 black women photographers to watch in 2021 by PH Museum. They received a special mention at 2020 Single Images Pride Photo Award and are now part of the Pride Photo Awards exhibition, Amsterdam (2021). They have works showing at the World Press Photo $ APJD Oldenburg, Germany (2021), Festival de Fotografia, Sao Paulo (2021), Looks Like Us, Toronto (2021) among others.

They have been commissioned by Facebook, UNICEF and many other NGOs both locally and internationally. They have participated in a couple of panels including Women Voices Through the lens and African Youth in The News by the world press photo and The Market Photo Workshop, contributed at the MOOC (Massive online safety training for Journalists) sessions for IWMF and UNESCO, TALK TALK TALK African Photography Conversations on Portraiture hosted by the CAP Prize, African Photographic Society and FOTEA among others.

DeLovie aspires for their images to evoke deeper feelings of relatability, a sense of learning and unlearning what we thought we knew beyond the obvious visual. They want to provoke intense emotions of questioning, defy the stereotypical narrative that’s embedded in our minds especially about beauty, gender identity to patriarchy that have infested our humanism.

– let the world embrace you as you are, regardless –