Tender Photos has announced the photographers and writers selected for its new commissioning initiative, Tender Visions.
Supported by the Open Society Foundations, the program will pair 13 photographers with 26 writers from across the African continent to collaborate on projects that expand the possibilities of visual storytelling. The first portfolios and texts are set to be published online beginning in October 2025.
Launched as a cross-disciplinary platform, Tender Visions seeks to strengthen creative dialogue between image and text. The program encourages artists to create space for deepened engagement with visual storytelling in Africa, and to bring new narratives to local and international audiences in insightful and thought-provoking ways.
The inaugural cohort brings together artists from across Africa and the diaspora, representing countries such as Sierra Leone, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Somalia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Zambia, and Ghana. Their forthcoming works will explore themes of identity, memory, community, urban change, and cultural resilience.
Selections were made through a mix of direct commissions and an open call. Among the directly commissioned are Sierra Leonean photographer Abdul Hamid Kanu, Nigerian visual artist Amarachi Nnoli, South African writer-photographer Lidudumalingani, and Moroccan photographer Yasmine Hatimi. Writers such as Billie McTernan (Ghana), Bongani Kona (South Africa), and Shubnum Khan (South Africa) also feature in this group.
From the open call, the program welcomed a diverse set of emerging and mid-career voices, including Somali photographer Faduma Mohamoud Ali, Egyptian visual artist Hana Gamal, Malagasy photographer Mahefa Dimbiniaina Randrianarivelo, Zambian artist Visule Kabunda, and Kenyan writer Buke Abdub Galma.
The jury panels guiding the process combined expertise in both visual and literary practice. The photography jury included KC Nwakalor, Michelle Loukidis, and Renée Mussai, while the writing panel featured Muthoni Muiruri, Rémy Ngamije, and Ukamaka Olisakwe. Their collective knowledge of contemporary African literature lent weight and credibility to the final selection.
With the first outputs expected in October, Tender Visions positions itself as a significant new platform for collaborative storytelling on the continent, opening space for conversations about how African stories are created and shared with the world.
Click HERE to read the full announcement.
Congratulations to all selected artists!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
