Zanele Muholi – Faces and Phases (2006-2026)

UK Book Launch at House of Sisters Grimm in London

Saturday 7 November 2026

South African photographer and visual activist Zanele Muholi will mark twenty years of their landmark portrait series with the launch of Faces and Phases: 2006–2026 at House of Sisters Grimm in London on Saturday 7 November 2026.

House of Sisters Grimm is proud to present the first and only launch and signing in the UK, co-produced by Michael Burgess of Creative Resilience International, with support from MACK Books and Southern Guild.

Edited by Renée Mussai, Faces and Phases champions the visibility, dignity and self-representation of Black LGBTQIA+ communities. The new MACK publication brings together more than 300 largely unpublished photographs, personal testimonies, essays and an extended interview.

Since beginning Faces and Phases in 2006, Muholi has used black-and-white portraiture to challenge the absence and misrepresentation of Black queer and trans people in visual culture. The images and accompanying voices assert the individuality of their participants, creating a record of lives, relationships and identities too often excluded from mainstream histories.

“This is not art; this is life. Each and every photograph is someone’s biography,” says Muholi.

Internationally acclaimed, Zanele Muholi is the recipient of the 2026 Hasselblad Award and has exhibited at Tate Modern and the Venice Biennale. Their honours also include France’s Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2017 and the Lucie Humanitarian Award in 2019.

Muholi’s partnership with House of Sisters Grimm reflects a shared commitment to representation and visibility through the arts. Born in Umlazi, Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, Muholi also shares a cultural connection with the dance musical INALA, whose creative journey began in Durban and whose music is sung in Zulu, their first language.

House of Sisters Grimm is home to INALA, which has Grammy-nominated music co-written by Ella Spira MBE with Joseph Shabalala and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and choreography by Mark Baldwin OBE. The show features ten South African performers and narration by Ndaba Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s grandson. The production’s international journey has encompassed the Royal Albert Hall, Hampton Court Palace, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and the Mandela stage at Joburg Theatre.

Its title, meaning ‘an abundance of goodwill’ in Zulu, expresses the belief that people can overcome adversity together. As a Certified B Corporation working with Lawyers against Abuse and supporting youth outreach, Sisters Grimm connects its creative work with practical social action. The launch and signing brings together distinct artistic practices with a shared commitment to visibility, dignity and the power of storytelling.

Celebrating South African culture through performance, music and art, the House brings together an exclusively South African fine-wine bar, an intimate West End theatre and a multimedia art gallery featuring landscapes painted in situ across South Africa by Sisters Grimm co-founder Ella Spira MBE.

Books will be available to purchase at the launch.