THE GISÈLE WULFSOHN MENTORSHIP IN PHOTOGRAPHY

The Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship is dedicated to the life and work of Gisèle Wulfsohn. To summarise her life in a few short paragraphs would be impossible. Gisèle was loved by many, including a wide and global network of friends and acquaintances. Professionally she was a photographer who was committed to making a difference in the world. Gisèle was diagnosed with Stage IIIB lung cancer in 2005. She characteristically turned her diagnosis into a project ‘Dear Diagnosis – Still Alive’, and never surrendered to the illness. Gisèle passed away on 27th December 2011.

The mentorship programme aims to sustain Gisèle’s commitment to social documentation, including her seminal contribution to ‘putting a face onto HIV’ in South Africa and the region. Her commitment to humanising the pandemic and to her profession generally was realised through her technical ability as a photographer coupled with her empathetic approach and warm connection to the people she worked with. The mentorship programme has been conceptualised and developed with the Market Photo Workshop and the Centre for the Study of AIDS – both organisations that Gisèle worked closely with over many years. Together with the family, these two organisations will oversee the whole programme and make decisions about its future.

The first programme will commence later in 2012. The programme will support a young photographer each year to produce a body of work in line with established criteria. Apart from financial support, the photographer will receive mentoring support from an established photographer and will have access to the resources and facilities of the Market Photo Workshop. It is anticipated that the work produced will be published and/or exhibited in due course. In addition to the material support provided, the young photographer will participate with others in regular forums as a mechanism for reflecting and learning about the work being undertaken, as well as exploring issues that arise and creating a body of learning that can be disseminated and carried through into subsequent years.

It is planned to capitalise the programme through Gisèle’s estate, and also to raise an equivalent sum through this appeal to Gisèle’s network of friends. We wish to mobilise sufficient resources to provide an investment that will support the programme in perpetuity. A Bursary account has been established with the family accountants into which donations can be made. Donations can be made until the end of December 2012. All donations will be acknowledged in publicity relating to the mentorship programme. Anyone wishing to obtain further details can email Mark Turpin at gismar@iafrica.com .