An exclusive livestream conversation between acclaimed South African photographer, Gideon Mendel, and Paul van Zyl, Co-Founder and Creative Director of The Conduit.
Gideon Mendel broke new ground in the 1990s, documenting the devastating effects of HIV in the UK and Africa, conveying both the horror and the dignity, strength and bravery of the sufferers and their loved ones. His creative journey has covered some of the monumental issues of our time, from activism and brutality in the late apartheid years to climate change, photographing tragic environmental disasters such as last year’s fires in Australia. Most recently, he has produced a series of portraits of coronavirus in London.
Gideon also tells inspiring stories of anti-retroviral treatment (ART) in the AIDS denial period, when One to One Children’s Fund set up its ground-breaking ART programme for babies and children in Cape Town in 2002.
We are still at the cutting edge, with our Enable programme working with HIV+ communities to totally eliminate HIV transmission to babies, and nurture their physical and developmental wellbeing through the crucial first 1,000 days.
In this livestream, Gideon will show examples of his work and explain his process, in conversation with Paul van Zyl, an important voice in the anti-apartheid campaign, and in subsequent human rights initiatives, including as Executive Secretary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Paul continues to foster social action and co-founded The Conduit, a community of passionate changemakers.
We will also get the latest news on the ground from Julia Bishop, our Country Director in South Africa, where COVID-19 is running rampant in vulnerable communities.