Kenyan artist wins International Prize for Contemporary African Photography

PHOTO: http://tahirk.com/?p=519
PHOTO: http://tahirk.com/?p=519

Kenyan photographer and artist Tahir Karmali was named one of the winners of POPCAP, the piclet.org prize for contemporary African Photography 2015. POPCAP, in its fourth edition, aims to raise the profile of African photography within the arts.

Born and raised in Nairobi and currently based in Brooklyn, New York, Karmali was named as one of the winners of the International Prize for Contemporary African Photography thanks to his JUA KALI series.

The JUA KALI series represents the journey of the artisan into self-creation and was inspired by the informal sector that breathes character into Nairobi’s economy. Karmali used the perseverance of the Jua Kali worker who often uses locally available recycled or found objects to develop their creations to describe one’s perceived self-image created from the idea of this philosophy.

The prize is aimed at photographers whose work engages with the African continent and/or a diaspora of an African country, and consists of global exposure at major international photography exhibitions. As a result, Karmali will be traveling to Milan, Italy to exhibit his winning photography series at the Vitra Design Museum on 15 April 2015.

Other winners include Filipe Branquinho of Mozamique, Zed Nelson of Uganda, Zied Ben Romdhane of Tunisia, and Romaric Tisserand of France.

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