Zanele Muholi’s Faces and Phases UK, in collaboration with The Common Press and the Muholi Art Institute, returns for its first solo exhibition at QUEERCIRCLE.
Opening Oct 14 2025 | 6 - 9 PM
Experience the striking portraits captured by Zanele Muholi, featuring Black queer women, non-binary, and trans members of the UK community. Faces and Phases: UK 2025 is a powerful visual testimony of UK-based Black queers who demand to be seen, with stories that refuse erasure. It forms part of Muholi’s living archive, centering UK-based Black queer communities and weaving intergenerational and international solidarities into acts of resistance and presence.
Faces and Phases is an ongoing radical archive of Black queer existence. Through photography and digital media, it documents lives and legacies, embodying visibility, storytelling, and the collective power to resist, endure, and thrive. This exhibition celebrates the strength of community and the transformative force of solidarity.
Inside the gallery, the portraits are accompanied by audio recordings from those photographed and a curated selection of books from The Common Press, London’s queer intersectional bookshop café. Visitors are invited not only to look, but to be—to rest, to listen, and to connect with friends and allies, both old and new. It is also an opportunity to network, learn about the UK-based project, and hear directly from some of the participants, along with guest performers and speakers from South Africa and the Muholi Arts Institute.
Zanele Muholi’s Faces and Phases began in 2006 as a living international archive, created to honour Black queer and trans communities worldwide through portraiture. Nearly two decades on, it continues to grow as a testament to presence, persistence, and the beauty of Black queer existence.
The evening will include contributions from
Zanele Muholi
Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir (Curator & Speaker)
Vernon Pienaar (Film maker)
Khadijatou Doyneh (Poet & Multi-Disciplinary Musician)
Lebo Mashifane (Poet, Writer & Filmmaker)
SCARBA (DJ)
Zanele Muholi is a renowned South African photographer and visual activist whose work celebrates and documents the lives of Black LGBTQIA+ communities.
Their major exhibition, featuring over 260 photographs, spans their career, starting in the early 2000s. Muholi’s Only Half the Picture series portrays love, intimacy, and trauma, highlighting ongoing violence against LGBTQIA+ people despite South Africa's progressive 1996 constitution. In Faces and Phases, subjects confront viewers with direct gazes, forming a powerful archive of authenticity and resistance. Other series include Brave Beauties, celebrating non-binary and trans empowerment, and Being, tenderly portraying couples to challenge stereotypes. In Somnyama Ngonyama ("Hail the Dark Lioness"), Muholi turns the lens on themself, addressing themes like racism and sexual politics. This exhibition, including new works, showcases their impactful artistry and activism.
Above photo of Zanele Muholi Qiniso, The Sails, Durban 2019 © Zanele Muholi, Courtesy of the Artist and Yancey Richardson, New York.
Aisha Shaibu-Lenoir is a visionary cultural producer, activist, and community builder. She is a Director at The Common Press, London’s intersectional queer bookshop in East London, and is also the founder of Moonlight Experiences, an award-winning LGBTQI+ travel company. With a decade of experience, Aisha has been a trailblazer in championing diverse queer spaces and building communities both locally and globally through travel and cultural initiatives. Aisha has been instrumental in developing impactful campaigns, curating festivals, and collaborating with leading brands and institutions within an intersectional framework. Aisha’s activism also includes her roles as Head of Community Engagement for UK Black Pride and Trustee for GiveOut, an international LGBTQI+ charity dedicated to funding and advancing LGBTQI+ rights worldwide.