Instagram @leeannolwage

Lee-Ann Olwage

SOUTH-AFRICA

Lee-Ann Olwage is a visual storyteller from South Africa who uses collaborative storytelling to explore themes relating to gender and identity. 

She is interested in using the medium of photography as a mode of celebration and aims to create a space where people she collaborates with can play an active part in the creation of images, they feel tells their stories in a way that is affirming and celebratory.

Her work has been featured in National Geographic, Vogue, The British Journal of Photography, Foam magazine, Geo, The Guardian, Atmos, Vanity Fair Italy, Dazed, Wired, Musee Magazine and IMA Magazine.

Notable awards include a World Press Photo Award, 2020, 2023 & 2024, Sony World Photography Awards, 2023, International Women in Photo Award Laurette 2023, Winner of This Is Gender, 2021, Pride Photo Award, 2021, CAP Prize winner, 2022, Marilyn Stafford Fotoreportage Award shortlist, 2021+2022, International Photography Awards Honourable Mention, 2020 and selected for The New York Times Portfolio Review 2022.

In collaboration with IWAP - International Women in Photography Association

• SERIES •

The Right to Play

Every day, girls face barriers to education caused by poverty, cultural norms and practices, poor infrastructure and violence. The Right To Play creates a powerful narrative that sheds light on the challenges faced by millions of girls globally in their pursuit of an education. Worldwide in 2023, 129 million girls are out of school, and only 49% of countries have achieved gender equality in primary education.

The project poses the question - What do girls dream of? And what happens when a supportive environment is created where girls are empowered and given the opportunity to learn and dream? What does that world look like?

The result is a poignant exploration of the dreams and aspirations of young girls, challenging societal expectations that limit their potential. By creating a playful world where girls are not confined by poverty, cultural norms, or violence and instead, is shown through a lens that paints a vivid picture of the possibilities that arise when girls are given the opportunity to learn and dream freely.

The Right To Play merges storytelling with an imagined playful world where girls are the shown in an empowered and affirming way blooming as the heroines of their own stories and overcoming the many barriers to getting an education.

This project was created with Kakenya's Dream, a nonprofit organization that leverages education to empower girls, end harmful traditional practices including female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage, and transform communities in rural Kenya.

Previous
Previous

Kristoffer Axén

Next
Next

Lia Rochas-Páris