As part of the Of Soul and Joy project—a photography-centred social and artistic mentoring programme created by Rubis Mécénat in the township of Thokoza in Johannesburg—the endowment fund presents the work of two emerging South African photographers in Paris in November 2024, timed with the 30th anniversary of democracy in South Africa (1994-2024).

The exhibition Ubusukunemini (Day and Night), part of the PhotoSaintGermain festival and curated by Valérie Fougeirol, brings the work of Tshepiso Mazibuko and Sibusiso Bheka into conversation, with regard to current events in South Africa.

These two photographers, beneficiaries of the Of Soul and Joy programme since 2012, belong to the so-called “born free” generation, a term designating the Black youth born after the first non-racial democratic elections in 1994, who thus never experienced apartheid. They are the symbolic promise of a free, more egalitarian South Africa—a premise they question through their photographic practice.

Ubusukunemini (Day and Night) is an invitation from Tshepiso Mazibuko to Sibusiso Bheka to weave together a vision of Thokoza today. Both were born and raised in this township where, overnight, they were “born free”. The exhibition showcases an intimate portrait of the township, exploring its community via its present, its history and its memory. The two photographers, intertwining their sensibilities, take the pulse of the nascent South African democracy, deeply questioning the very meaning of “born free”.