FOTO Project Space (FPS) is a non-profit artist-run space in Woodstock (Cape Town, South Africa) that functions as a shared studio, classroom, and exhibition space for disadvantaged photographers who are based in surrounding townships. The mission of FPS is to act as a platform for developing the work and careers of these photographers by holding workshops, exhibiting their work, and connecting them with local and international creative industries.
Conceptually and pragmatically, FPS represents a departure from the one time off ‘let’s give cameras to kids in a village and see what they do’ model. FPS strives to be a sustainable resource center that invests deeply in the futures of true aspiring artists/photographers who have little access to resources.
As far as approach and subject matter, FPS encourages various forms of photography that explore the quotidian within local townships. By exhibiting works that, through local insight and dynamics, profoundly challenge popular representations of townships life, we hope to validate alternative practices and open up the township as a space for new and diverse forms of photography.
If you would like to support our photographers and the project by purchasing prints, volunteering, making donations, or exhibiting our work please contact us. Thanks!
* Thanks to the Ella Lyman Cabot Trust for making my involvement in developing FOTO Project Space possible.
