By Sitha Maliwa:
In the quiet fishing village of Paternoster, something extraordinary has unfolded along its windswept shores. For a week, the familiar rhythm of crashing waves and working boats was accompanied by a new sound – the click of cameras in the hands of children discovering the power to see, and to be seen.
This transformation is the heart of a bold collaboration between internationally acclaimed visual activist Zanele Muholi and former Miss South Africa Jo-Ann Strauss. Together, through the Muholi Art Institute (MAI) and the MaseKhaya Foundation, they have ignited a quiet revolution – one led not by adults, but by children.
Armed with cameras instead of expectations, the young participants wandered their village freely. They photographed not what they were told to see, but what they felt. Laughter echoed as they captured each other in unguarded moments. The ocean – their lifeline – became both subject and storyteller. Homes, streets, and overlooked corners were reframed into powerful visual narratives.
At the centre of this initiative is the Photo XP programme, a hands-on creative platform designed to place storytelling tools directly into the hands of youth. Guided by Muholi, Strauss, township photographer Lindeka Qampi, and community partners including West Coast Kids, the children were introduced not only to photography techniques, but to something far more profound = the dignity of self-representation.
Muholi’s philosophy resonates deeply through the project. “Nobody can tell our story better than ourselves.” It is a statement that now lives in every image captured by the children of Paternoster. Reflecting on their own journey, Muholi adds, “I picked up the camera because there were no images of us that spoke to me at the time when I needed them the most. I had to produce a positive visual narrative of my community and create a new dialogue with images.”
What emerged over the course of the week was not just a collection of photographs, but a shift in perspective. The children began to see themselves not as subjects, but as creators. Their images – raw, joyful, and deeply personal – pulse with authenticity. They tell stories of belonging, resilience, and everyday beauty that often escapes the adult gaze.
Strauss, witnessing this transformation firsthand, described its emotional impact. “This project has been about giving children the confidence to see themselves as storytellers, artists and creators. Watching them use photography to express who they are has been incredibly moving.”
The initiative builds on earlier successes in Vredendal and Swellendam, steadily expanding a movement rooted in a simple but powerful belief: that young people must be given the tools to define their own narratives.
The children’s work will soon step into the public eye, with exhibitions hosted in Paternoster and at the Strandloper Ocean Boutique Hotel from Friday, 24 April 2026. These exhibitions promise more than visual appeal – they offer an intimate window into a community seen through the unfiltered eyes of its youngest voices.
Yet, beyond the gallery walls, something more enduring remains. Confidence has been planted where doubt once lived. A generation has begun to understand that their stories matter – and that they hold the power to tell them. In this collaboration between Muholi, Strauss, and their partners, a quiet but profound truth emerges: when children are trusted with cameras and given the freedom to create, they do more than take pictures. They reshape narratives, challenge perceptions, and, in the process, begin to redefine themselves. – @NewsSA_Online
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