Namibia: Photographic exhibition explores drought, displacement, and informal settlements

The exhibition features Margaret Courtney-Clarke’s 'Geographies of Drought' and Rachel Sakeus’ 'Tura Story'. Courtney-Clarke's work, which was previously shown at the Reiss Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim, Germany, focuses on the San and other indigenous peoples in the Erongo, Omaheke, Oshikoto, and Kavango East regions, highlighting their struggles with displacement and drought, including the denial of landownership and lack of food support during a six-year drought. Her photographs also capture their resilience and resourcefulness.

Sakeus’ 'Tura Story' documents the realities of Katutura, an area where residents face high rents, distance from jobs, and limited opportunities, a situation she attributes to the apartheid-era relocation of black residents. Sakeus, who grew up in Windhoek and studied in Katutura, aims to document these realities, stating that it is not negativity but reality that must be seen. The exhibition is part of ongoing cultural relations between the City of Mannheim and the City of Windhoek.