Sibusiso Bheka, a former student of the social and artistic mentorship programme Of Soul and Joy (OSJ), has been awarded a three-month residency at the esteemed Cité Internationale Des Arts in France.
Bheka began his residency in Paris on April 10, which will run until July 4.
Born in Thokoza in 1997, Bheka discovered a love for photography when he joined the OSJ programme as a high school student in 2012. The programme, dedicated to empowering young South Africans through creativity, provided Bheka a pathway to studying photography which has led to him producing award-winning work recognised across several global photography platforms.
Bheka’s body of work represents the essence of his community, challenging the preconceived ideas traditionally associated with informal settlements and placing a spotlight on his lived experiences.
The subject of Bheka’s residency will be an ongoing photography project that explores his childhood memories through the intersection of cinema, photography, and personal narrative. He explains: “Paris holds a unique relationship with cinema that intrigues me. I want to explore that connection between the cinematic realm and the tangible reality of the city.”
The project involves pairing scenes of daily life with iconic cult movie captions to create new narratives. This approach mirrors his childhood experiences, where visual perception held greater significance than cognitive processing.
The Cité Internationale Des Arts is an artist-in-residence building complex which accommodates artists of all specialties and nationalities in Paris. In partnership with 135 French and international organisations, the Cité’s two complementary sites welcome more than 300 artists from a wide range of disciplines for residencies lasting up to one year. Cité des arts also provides residents with bespoke assistance and support throughout their stay and exposes artists to a vast network of contacts in Paris and wider France which can assist them in developing their networks.
“We are extremely proud of Sibusio’s artistic journey,” says Jabulani Dhlamini, project manager at Of Soul and Joy. “His ability to capture the rich narratives, playful moments, and surreal landscapes of his environment has set him apart and entrenched him as a recognised South African artist. This residency is an opportunity for him to continue sharing his talent with the world and to actively contribute to the international art stage.”
Bheka still lives and works in Thokoza as an OSJ mentor. His work has been showcased in platforms like the Addis FotoFest, the Ghent International Photo Festival, Cape Town Art Fair, AKAA Paris, and the renowned Les Rencontres de Bamako, amongst others. He was shortlisted for the Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellowship in 2018 and nominated for the CAP Prize and the Joop Swart Masterclass in 2019.
Have a look at one of Bheka’s previous projects titled ‘Stop Nonsense’ below:
