Celebrating Muholi: A Shared Moment of Recognition and Care
By Mpho Molefe
On this day, we gathered as the MAI team and friends to celebrate Prof. Zanele Muholi. Not only in honour of their work, but in recognition of the deep and lasting impact they continue to have on community, both within and beyond MAI.
It was a quiet, intentional gathering on the evening of 14 March 2026 at the Radisson Collection Hotel in Cape Town. The setting was intimate, with the evening light softening as we settled around the table. There was no rush, no performance. Only presence. Stories were shared, and laughter moved easily through the room. Most powerfully, gratitude was spoken aloud. Each voice added something meaningful, reflecting not only appreciation for Muholi but also a shared understanding of what MAI represents in people's lives.
As Gwen expressed with such heartfelt sincerity, “You represented, and I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Simple words, but they carried the weight of genuine recognition. The kind that comes from witnessing someone carry stories, histories, and truths into the world on behalf of so many. The kind that acknowledges not just achievement but the responsibility of representation itself.
“You are the chosen one in your own fields, and now you are the chosen one in this village called home, at MAI. Family is beyond just blood. Family is all those people who make you comfortable, and respect your presence.”
These words lingered in the air, capturing exactly what the room held. A family built not by lineage but by choice. By comfort. By the quiet respect we hold for one another. Around that table, each person was both celebrated and seen. Each person belonged.
In those moments of reflection, something became undeniably clear. MAI does indeed do community work. Not in abstraction, not as a concept, but in ways that are lived and felt and carried by those who pass through its spaces. The words shared around the table affirmed a collective truth. This is a place where people are seen. Where they are supported. Where they are held. A place where connection is nurtured with intention, and where care is woven into everything we do.
This gathering also took place alongside a significant moment of global recognition. Muholi has been named the 2026 laureate of the Hasselblad Foundation's Hasselblad Award, one of the most prestigious honours in photography. This award places them among the most celebrated artists of our time, acknowledging a body of work that has transformed how we see and understand identity, visibility, and the power of image-making.
While this recognition speaks to the global resonance of their work, it also feels deeply rooted in the same values we experienced around the table. Visibility. Dignity. An unwavering commitment to community. Muholi's images have always done more than document. They affirm. They insist on presence. They declare that Black queer and trans lives matter, that they are beautiful, that they are here to stay.
At MAI, this moment was never only about the award. It was about what that recognition represents in a deeper sense. Muholi's work has always extended beyond the frame, engaging with histories, identities, and the fundamental importance of being seen on one's own terms. To celebrate this achievement within community felt both grounding and expansive. A reminder that global recognition and local connection are not separate, but deeply intertwined. They nourish each other.
Zama captured this beautifully when she shared her own experience of what Muholi has built. “Muholi gave us a home, a place to belong, and not only that,” she said. “Muholi was able to make us find that spark within ourselves.”
That spark. That is what community nurtures. Not just belonging, but the discovery of one's own light reflected back through the eyes of others. Around the table, we saw that spark in each person's eyes. In each story shared. In each moment of laughter and quiet acknowledgement. The spark was there in the way people leaned in to listen, in the pauses between words, in the fullness of being together.
What made the day especially meaningful was its simplicity. The intimate dinner setting at the Radisson Collection Hotel needed no ceremony to validate the moment. The act of gathering, of listening, of expressing gratitude was enough. In that space, celebration became something more than acknowledgement. It became a form of care. A way of affirming one another and recognising the collective effort behind individual milestones.
This is what community looks like in practice. It is found in shared meals, in honest conversations, in the willingness to pause and honour one another. It is built over time, through trust, through presence, and through a shared commitment to something larger than ourselves. It requires showing up, again and again, even when there is nothing to celebrate. Especially then.
As the conversations unfolded, one idea returned again and again. Quietly but powerfully. When one of us wins, we all win.
That truth shaped the spirit of the day. Muholi's recognition was felt not as a distant achievement, not as something separate from the rest of us. It was felt as something held collectively. Something that belongs, in part, to the community that surrounds and supports the work. It reminded us that success is never isolated. It is carried by many hands. By many voices. By many moments of care along the way.
The evening stretched on, and still people stayed. Still the conversation flowed. Still the laughter came easily. There was no desire to leave, because this was the kind of gathering that replenishes. The kind that reminds you why community matters in the first place.
This gathering will remain with us. Not only as a celebration of Muholi, but as a reflection of who we are as MAI. It affirmed the values we continue to build on. Community. Connection. The importance of showing up for one another with sincerity and intention. These are not just words we use. They are practices we live.
On this day, 14 March 2026, we celebrated Muholi. We celebrated a remarkable recognition. And we celebrated the quiet, powerful work of community. The kind of work that reminds us that none of us stands alone. That we are all chosen in our own fields, and that together, we build a village called home.
