SCAD deFINE ART honoree Zanele Muholi is a boundary-pushing artist esteemed for their work exploring notions of Black identity, community, and advocacy. A self-described visual activist, Muholi prioritizes the depiction of marginalized people from queer communities in both their home country of South Africa and around the globe. Through striking photographs, film, and sculpture, the artist honors the complex lived experiences of Black individuals, underscoring the vital need for visibility and agency.

Muholi’s exhibition includes several landmark bodies of work including Somnyama Ngonyama, translated from Zulu as Hail the Dark Lioness, an ongoing series of self-portraits that cast the artist as the central figure in sumptuous black-and-white images. In these staged confrontations, Muholi dons everyday items like clothespins, rugs, and plastic bags, which transform through unexpected arrangements, reflecting both personal and collective narratives of race and body politics.

The exhibition also features selections from Brave Beauties, highlighting trans women and nonbinary people in empowered poses, and Faces and Phases, a series of portraits that respond to the violence and discrimination faced by Black lesbians in South Africa. A never-before-seen group of self-portraits continues the artist’s Somnyama Ngonyama series in lightbox format. Through these works, Muholi reenvisions Black queer representation and challenges pervasive stereotypes, offering an empathetic and emboldened perspective of the human condition.

Feb. 24 - July 6, 2025