Reflections on the Stories of Kalingalinga workshop by Geoffrey Phiri

The potential or rather the ability to tell our own stories is very much the essence of the "Stories of Kalingalinga" workshop. These images tell our tale. From where I have been sitting in the workshop, it was interesting to observe that there has been a lot of enthusiasm from the participants. Some are professionals in their own right and some very enthusiastic up and coming artists. There is definitely no doubt that we are headed in the right direction, we are building a network that will be active long after the workshop. The energy that the participants have continued to exhibit outside the workshop is another positive that needs commendation. My hope is that other institutions will come on board and thus the visual stories of Kalingalinga and Zambia will continue to develop.

Stories of Kalingalinga - Scotty

Link to Scotty's video

It was with great passion and pleasure to be a part of the workshop that enabled me to tell my story about Kalingalinga.

I always felt that people from this particular part of the capital, where I live, has always been miscategorised  and labelled poor and futureless because of the societal gap in social standing.

 My main focus was to show that people from Kalingalinga are not only as human as everyone else but are happy and are giving back to their community.

To be able to also capture the children play and have lots of fun was for me fulfilling.

I couldn't be happier to have made my contribution to this project.

Stories of Kalingalinga - Yande Yombwe

I took pictures of the various texts which include names of shops or rather businesses, random wall writings and print outs of services being offered in Kalingalinga. The texts represent the advertisers personalities, hopes of what they wish to achieve and also how creative they can be.

Through my interaction in Kalingalinga, I have learnt that there is always more than what meets the eye anywhere you go. We can learn a lot through interaction as we people have different needs, lifestyles & experiences. There are so many untold stories and photography is one way I can share them.

My name is Yande Yombwe. An early career visual mixed media artist born in Lusaka, Zambia. My studio space is at Wayiwayi Art studio & gallery which is in Livingstone (southern part of Zambia) , where I live. I mostly paint, but I'm also crafty & can make jewellery. I love experimentation and try to infuse recycling in a lot of the things I do.