Human beings and the battle for space is once again making headlines. Immigration status, nationality and inclusion, among others, often define how people belong; they either contest, negotiate, claim and reclaim their place in it. As our country grapples with notions of being in any given space, The Market Photo Workshop, a Division of The Market Theatre Foundation, is excited to collaborate with the University of Pretoria (UP) in presenting the ‘Moved: Borders, Bodies and Belonging’ exhibition.
Held from 26 July – 8 August 2025 at the university’s Student Gallery, this exhibition will explore migration, identity, transformation and belonging.
The exhibition aims to showcase work that explores themes of migration, identity and belonging through the work of The Market Photo Workshop’s students. It will be followed up by a workshop that will bring together students from MPW and UP to discuss themes from the exhibition. This workshop will create a space for critical dialogue around visual language, identity and movement.
“At the core of this exhibition is how people move through, are moved by, or are displaced in space, emotionally and physically. The themes include ideas of foreignness, public transport, spatial apartheid, exclusion/inclusion, and personal and political stories tied to space and inequality,” states Bandile Gumbi, Head: The Market Photo Workshop.
Gumbi continues, “Students will be encouraged to reflect on their personal responses to the exhibition and explore possibilities for producing new work that speaks to shared or divergent experiences of migration, spatial belonging, and transformation. The workshop aims to culminate in a self-curated guerrilla exhibition, conceptualised, planned, and executed by the students themselves, expanding the reach of move beyond the gallery and into more spontaneous, public, or unexpected spaces.”
‘Moved: Borders, Bodies and Belonging’ will be curated by Fiona Davhana and Alet Pretorius. Entry is free for all students and the public.
