Sabelo Mlangeni Wins James Barnor Prize for Photography

South African photographer Sabelo Mlangeni has been awarded the James Barnor prize, an annual award for artists from different regions of Africa, announced at Arles. Mlangeni's work spans nearly 30 years, focusing on community, queer rural life, and spiritual identity. His series Isivumelwano documents unions in churches, community halls, and grasslands, challenging traditional white wedding narratives. In Umlindelo wamaKholwa, he explores Zionist churches in Johannesburg and Driefontein, capturing night-prayer vigils. Mlangeni also visited queer communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the series 'I Have Stopped Time' A Family Portrait, seeking to capture umoya (spirit). His practice is described by curator Francesca de' Medici as one of deep devotion and empathy. Writer Emmanuel Balogun notes that isivumelwano means contract or agreement, and Mlangeni's work magnifies the systems we exist in. Working largely in black and white, Mlangeni's intimate photographs reveal beauty in the ordinary. The prize was announced at Arles.