Lebohang Kganye was announced as the 2024 winner of the prestigious £30,000 prize at a special ceremony at The Photographers’ Gallery, London, on Thursday 16 May 2024.

The influential prize, presented by the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation in partnership with The Photographers’ Gallery, rewards artists and their projects recognised as having made the most significant contribution to international contemporary photography over the past 12 months. 2024 marks 20 years of partnership between The Photographers’ Gallery and Deutsche Börse.

Lebohang Kganye was awarded the Prize for the exhibition “Haufi nyana? I’ve come to take you home” at Foam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (17 February – 21 May 2023). 

Lebohang Kganye (b. 1990, South Africa) combines photography, sculpture, performance, theatre and moving image into her multifaceted artistic practice. Exploring the intersections of personal history and ancestry, Kganye draws inspiration from shared oral histories and fictional texts. Growing up in post-apartheid Johannesburg, she delves into South Africa's complex past and reflects on the realities and consequences of apartheid and colonialism. 

The nominated exhibition's title, “Haufi nyana?” meaning “too close?” in Sesotho, one of South Africa's official languages, explores and reimagines notions of home, belonging, heritage and identity. In the large-scale installation on display at The Photographers’ Gallery, Kganye uses silhouettes and life-sized cut-out figures of her family crafted from images in photo albums. The installation considers the impact of her family’s forced migration, due to land acts and apartheid law, including the alteration of their surname. Through symbolic elements, such as a central rotating light representing the Sesotho word for “light”, ”kganya”, she symbolises her ancestral heritage.

Clare Grafik, Acting Director of The Photographers’ Gallery and Chair of the Jury, said: 

“We are delighted to announce Lebohang Kganye as the winner of the 2024 Prize. Her innovative use of photography brings together past and present to explore the political through deeply personal stories of her own family and history. Sometimes theatrical, always experimental, her use of photography and her own archives is powerful and refreshing. Our visitors have loved her large-scale installation - I’m excited to see what she does next.” 

Anne-Marie Beckmann, Director of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, said: 
 
“Many congratulations to Lebohang. I’m delighted to announce her as the winner in this special year when we celebrate 20 years of collaborating with The Photographers’ Gallery and 25 years of the Art Collection Deutsche Börse. 

Lebohang’s nominated exhibition “Haufi nyana? I’ve come to take you home” at Foam in Amsterdam was an exciting and engaging insight into her developing career. Her risk-taking exploration of her family history opens up important discussions about the realities and consequences of apartheid.

There is a powerful conversation running through the work of all of the nominated artists this year. A vital conversation about displacement, hidden histories and unheard voices. The artists all question the shifting nature and parameters of photography now. Deciding the 2024 winner was a difficult decision - many congratulations to the other shortlisted artists VALIE EXPORT, Gauri Gill & Rajesh Vangad and Hrair Sarkissian. We are thrilled to have brought their work together for this year’s Prize.”

The other 2024 shortlisted artists – VALIE EXPORT, Gauri Gill & Rajesh Vangad and Hrair Sarkissian – all received £5,000. The exhibition showcasing all five artists is at The Photographers’ Gallery until 2 June 2024. The exhibition will then be on show at the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation in Eschborn/Frankfurt, Germany, from 13 June to 22 September 2024.  

This year’s Jury is: Rahaab Allana, Curator/Publisher, at Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, New Delhi, India; Quentin Bajac, Director of the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Paris, France; Anne-Marie Beckmann, Director of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation, Frankfurt/Main, Germany; Laura El-Tantawy, documentary photographer; and Clare Grafik, Acting Director of The Photographers’ Gallery, London, as voting Chair. 

For more details visit: www.tpg.org.uk

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About Lebohang Kganye

Lebohang Kganye (b. 1990, South Africa) is a photographer, who also works with sculptural, performative, theatrical and moving image. Kganye’s work explores themes of personal history and ancestry whilst resonating with the history of South Africa and apartheid. She incorporates the archival and performative into her practice that centres storytelling and memory in the familial experience. 

Lebohang Kganye received her introduction to photography at the Market Photo Workshop, in Johannesburg, in 2009 and completed the Advanced Photography Programme in 2011. She obtained a Diploma in Fine Arts from the University of Johannesburg in 2014 and is currently doing her Masters in Fine Arts at the Witwatersrand University. Kganye’s work has been exhibited internationally, at Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan; Ryerson Image Centre, Toronto; Huis Marseille, Museum for Photography, Amsterdam; the Apartheid Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa and many more. Notable recent awards include the Foam Paul Huf Award 2022, Grand Prix Images Vevey 2021/22, Paulo Cunha e Silva Art Prize, 2020, Camera Austria Award, 2019

About the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation

The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in Frankfurt/ Main, dedicated to collecting, exhibiting and promoting contemporary photography. The Foundation is responsible for the development and presentation of the Art Collection Deutsche Börse, whose 25th anniversary it is celebrating this year. The collection now comprises over 2,300 photographic works by around 160 artists from 35 nations. The Foundation shows several public exhibitions a year in its exhibition space in Eschborn near Frankfurt am Main. It supports young artists through awards, scholarships or the annual talent programme of the Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam Foam. The Foundation also works on exhibitions with international museums and institutions, as well as creating platforms for academic dialogue and research on photography. 
www.deutscheboersephotographyfoundation.org

About The Photographers’ Gallery

The Photographers’ Gallery explores how photography is connecting, captivating and radically changing our world today. The Gallery’s programme and spaces – from exhibitions, events and digital platforms, to the galleries, shop and café – all explore the beauty, complexity and future of photography. Right outside the Gallery, the very best of contemporary photography is shown for free, day and night, in Soho Photography Quarter.
www.thephotographersgallery.org.uk

About the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize History

Founded in 1996 by The Photographers’ Gallery, and now in its 28th year, the Prize has become one of the most prestigious international arts awards and has launched and established the careers of many photographers over the years. Previously known as the Citigroup Photography Prize, the Gallery has been in collaboration with Deutsche Börse Group since 2005. In 2016 the Prize was retitled the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize, following the establishment of the Foundation as a non-profit organisation, dedicated to collecting, exhibiting and promoting contemporary photography. The 2024 Prize celebrates 20 years of partnership between Deutsche Börse and The Photographers’ Gallery. The winner of the 2023 Prize was Samuel Fosso for his exhibition “Samuel Fosso” at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France. Past winners include: Deana Lawson, Cao Fei, Mohamed Bourouissa, Susan Meiselas, Luke Willis Thompson, Dana Lixenberg, Trevor Paglen, Juergen Teller, Rineke Dijkstra, and Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin.