Gone are the days when Africa was portrayed through a lens of poverty or safari wildlife. Today’s African photographers are rewriting the narrative — capturing the richness, style, hustle, politics, and poetry of everyday life on the continent.
Here are some of the most influential and rising stars in African photography:
1. Mário Macilau (Mozambique)
Specializes in black-and-white portraits of urban street life and social exclusion, transforming the invisible into iconic.
2. Aïda Muluneh (Ethiopia)
Known for surreal, striking imagery that fuses Afrofuturism with ancient symbolism. Her work challenges beauty standards and gender norms.
3. Andrew Esiebo (Nigeria)
A documentary photographer capturing Lagos life, barbershops, nightlife, and the rhythm of the streets with vivid intimacy.
4. Sarah Waiswa (Uganda/Kenya)
Blends storytelling and visual artistry to explore African identity and the social cost of tradition versus modernity.
5. Cedric Nunn (South Africa)
Renowned for documenting apartheid and the transformation of South Africa. His work is both archival and deeply emotional.
Photography in Africa is now a movement — one of reclamation, resistance, and representation. These artists offer raw, beautiful, and unfiltered views of African life — not through a foreign gaze, but through African eyes.
