Country
South Africa
In her work, Mary Sibande explores the concepts of family and heritage to offer a reinterpretation of her own family’s history, which radically challenges the black exploitative narrative inherited from South-Africa’s apartheid era. Her stunning photographs and sculptures provide vibrant metaphors of black women’s power, and deconstruct the traditional stereotypes associated with them.
Since 2016, she has actively supported ActionAid South Africa and the Young Urban Women Programme’s fundraising campaigns to foster the development of art education programmes targeting young girls from the township communities.Since 2016, she has actively supported ActionAid South Africa and the Young Urban Women Programme’s fundraising campaigns to foster the development of art education programmes targeting young girls from the township communities.
Over the course of her artistic career, Sibande represented South Africa at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011), and received numerous awards including the prestigious Smithsonian National Museum of African Arts Award, and the Standard Bank Young Artist Award in the Visual Arts category.
