ABOUT
Born in 1991, in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, Mandisa Buthelezi is a Photographer and Cultural Producer who was raised in the township of Umlazi, in Durban. Drawn to the rural life of KwaZulu-Natal, she began her journey as a self-taught photographer documenting the social and cultural landscape that exists within the rural and peri-urban areas of the province. In 2015 she joined the Durban Centre for Photography to enhance her photography skills through collective learning. The Durban Centre for Photography (DCP) served as a space for photographic collective learning, where professional photographers mentored from behind their work. The late Peter McKenzie, an internationally renowned photographer and facilitator, coordinated the DCP programme that realized a diversity of exhibitions, training and workshop opportunities.
Buthelezi also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Witwatersrand (2021) and an Advanced Project Management Certificate from the University of Cape Town (2018). She also holds a National Diploma in Construction Management & Quantity Surveying from the Durban University of Technology (2011). Buthelezi is currently enrolled for her Master of Arts in Cultural Policy and Management from the University of Witwatersrand (2023 - ).
With a vast portfolio that communicates the cultural voice and an appreciation and respect for the culture that has informed her perspective, Buthelezi provides photographic content that is country-life centered and explores the notions of culture, identity and spirituality. Buthelezi’s work moves between colour and black and white to position her imagery in the centre of conversation and reflection between cultural advancement and time dimensions. The importance of cataloguing and documenting African culture through visual art has become an important component of her work through work assignments. This has shaped her notion of sustaining the culture that surrounds her.
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Exhibitions:
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Exhibition Title : She Bad Bad
Exhibition Type : Group Exhibition
Gallery : Market Photo Gallery, South Africa
Year : 2021
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Exhibition Title : Folds and Faults
Exhibition Type : Group Exhibition
Gallery : National Arts Museum, South Africa
Year : 2021
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Exhibition Title : Commune
Exhibition Type : Group Exhibition
Gallery : Turbine Art Fair, South Africa
Year : 2020
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Exhibition Title : Anomalies
Exhibition Type : Group Exhibition
Gallery : Semaphore Gallery of African Contemporary Art, Switzerland
Year : 2017
Exhibition Title : AMANDLA! South African Women’s Photographers
Exhibition Type : Group Exhibition
Gallery : Pingyao International Photography Festival, China
Year : 2016