In celebration of Women’s Month, Of Soul and Joy (OSJ) is pleased to announce a photography workshop led by an all-female team of renowned photographers: Tshepiso Mazibuko, Tshepiso Mabula, Naledi Mkupa, and Zanele Dhlamini. Designed for young women and boys aged 13–30 from local townships and the Merafe Hostel in Soweto, the workshop teaches technical skills through a transformative journey of self-expression, introspection, and storytelling under the unifying theme: “This is Home.”
Over the course of the workshop, 38 participants will engage in hands-on training that blends photography fundamentals with conceptual thinking. They will explore their environments and inner worlds, using elements such as texture, light, colour, and pattern to build a personal photo series that answers the question: “What does home mean to me?” The theme also explores the idea that home can mean different things to different people – whether it is a physical place, an idea or feeling, or even a person.
“This workshop is special because it gives participants permission to reflect on their own identities and capture and interpret their emotions in physical images,” says facilitator Tshepiso Mabula ka Ndongeni. “We’re teaching these students photography, while also building their confidence, encouraging independence, and showing them that their stories matter.”
The programme includes lessons in visual storytelling, basic presentation and writing, and mentorship by women role models in the creative field. Participants will also produce artist statements to accompany their work, forming part of a printed zine and a digital archive that will preserve their stories beyond the classroom.
The initiative culminates in a curated exhibition titled “This is Home,” opening on 13 September 2025 at the Umhlabathi Collective in Newtown, Johannesburg. This public showcase invites the community to experience the powerful and personal visual narratives created during the workshop.
Jabulani Dlamini, OSJ Project Manager, highlights the deeper purpose: “In environments where young people—especially young women—are so often overlooked or unheard, this initiative offers a vital space to be seen and to speak. Photography becomes a way to declare that I am here, and this is who I am.”
Through this workshop, OSJ aims to:
- Empower young women through creative expression
- Build technical and narrative photography skills
- Encourage self-confidence and independent thinking
- Provide sustained mentorship
- Create a safe platform for youth to share their lived experiences
- Challenge students to think outside the box
“This is Home” is both the workshp’s theme and an invitation to reimagine belonging, identity, and future possibilities through the lens of youth, guided by women who once stood in similar shoes and now lead with purpose.