Giya Makondo-Wills is a British-South African photographer, visual artist, educator, and talkshow host based in the Netherlands. Her work focuses on identity, the Western gaze, systems of power and aims to challenge visual culture and the history of the camera. De-colonial thinking and collaboration through image-making are central to her practice, as are preserving the stories of marginalised communities.
In 2021, she became a lecturer in the BA Photography program at the Royal Academy of Art in TheHague. She regularily moderates talks, hosts events and runs guest workshops internationally. Furthermore she co-hosts the live talk show 'Fotodok BookTalks' at Tivoli Vredenburg.
Since 2017 she has collaborated on various projects internationally, participating in de-colonial exchanges with practitioners from various fields and served on juries and steering groups developing arts education and opportunities for marginalised artists. She has been commended for her work and since 2017 regularly exhibited and published her work internationally.
She is available for workshops, public speaking engagements and collaborations. For an extended CV please get in touch.
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Exhibitions
2024 - Grounding, Stories of Migration - FOTODOK X BREDA PHOTO (Journeys Edition, September - November 2024)
2023 - Our Cultural Connection to Water (Royal Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. March 2023 - February 2024)
2022 - Bodies in (e)motion - From Where I Stand, Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie (Kunstverein Ludwigshafen and other locations. Germany, March - May 2022)
2020 - CROYANCES, faire et defaire l'invisible (Cultural Institue of Islam. Paris, France. March 2020 - January 2021)
2018 - Photo Vogue , BASE (Milan, Italy, November 2018)
2018 - Hiareth. An MA Documentary photography group show. (Truman Brewery, London, England, October 2018)
2018 - FOUNDATION. An exhibition celebrating the best photographic talent nurtured in the South West. (Poly, Falmouth, England, April 28th-2nd May 2018)
2018 - Duesseldorf Photo Weekend 2018 'Neighbourhood' (Dusseldorf, Germany, 16th -18th February 2018)
2017/2018 - Cream 17: A Showcase of Graduate Photography Talent (Crane Kalman Gallery, Brighton - U.K)
2017/2018 - Young Selector for 'Empire through the Lens: pictures from the British Empire and Commonwealth Collection' (Bristol Museum and Art Gallery - U.K)
2017 - LagosPhoto Festival 2017 'Regimes of Truth' (African Artists Foundation, Lagos, Nigeria, 24th November - 15th December 2017)
2017- Its Nice That Magazine ‘Introducing The Graduates’ (London, U.K 5th July 2017)
2017 - Two Eyes Serve A Movement USW Documentary Photography Graduates (Seen Fifteen Gallery, London 16th-21st June 2017)
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Awards and Commendations
2022 - Selected by FOTODOK to join the FUTURERS in Photography platform
2019 - Nominated by Anastasia Taylor-Lind for the 2019 World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass
2018 - '31 women to watch out for' - British Journal of Photography
2018 - Shortlisted for the PHMuseum Women's grant
2018 - Royal Photographic Society Graduate Class of 2018
2018 - British Journal of Photography Graduate Class of 2018
2018 - YCN (You Can Now) annual magazine - 20 Rising Stars in the creative industry
2017 - Selected for Its Nice That Magazine ‘The Graduates’
2017 - Shortlisted for the Royal Photographic Society 160 Exhibition
2017 - Shortlisted for Photogrvy Grant
2017 - Prize winner - IAFOR Documentary Photography Award
2017 - Selected by Marie-France Kittler & Salvator Vitale – Source Photographic Review, Graduates
2016 - Recipient of the Reginald Salisbury Fund Travel Award
Artist Talks
2024 - Reclaiming Narratives, RTM Talk, International Film Festival, Rotterdam
2022 - (IN)VISIBILITIES, Gender and photography in The Netherlands, FOTODOK Conference
2022 - Bodies in (e)motion - From Where I Stand, Biennale für aktuelle Fotografie, Artist talk , Kunstverein Ludwigshafen, Germany
2021 - Guest Lecture - St Joost School of art and Design, Breda, The Netherlands
2021 - Artists talk - BOP Bristol - Royal Photographic Society & Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol, England
2021 - More Than a Number - Symposium, Turning Point: Diffusion 2021 ffotogallery, Cardiff, Wales
2021 - Lunchtime Lecture, The Royal Academy of Art in The Hauge, KABK
2021 - Belfast Photo Festival, The Age of The Female Gaze panel discussion
2020 - Guest Lecture - London College Of Communication, London, England
2020 - Guest Lecture - Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2020 - British Journal of Photography and 1854 Media, in conversation with Giya Makondo-Wills
2020- Miniclick Photography talks - The Royal Photographic Society, Bristol
2020 - Miniclick Photography talks - Marwoods, Brighton
2020 - Guest Lecture - Erasmus Exchange: Migration and Citizenship - London
2019 - Women in Focus: Documentary and Citizenship - National Museum of Wales and The European Centre for Documentary Research