Cedric Nunn

Cedric Nunn was born in Nongoma, Natal (KwaZulu-Natal) on 22 December 1957. He attended the Little Flower School in Ixopo, Natal (KwaZulu-Natal) and continued his schooling until standard eight (Grade 10). After leaving high school he worked at Huletts Sugar Mill from 1974 until 1981. Nunn joined Afrapix in the 1980s. In 1982 he moved to Johannesburg and then went abroad in 1983.

Nunn was among the photographers documenting the resistance against apartheid in the 1980s. He contributed to "Culture and Resistance" in 1982 and to the Staffrider exhibitions of 1983, 1984 and to the "Year of the Woman" exhibition in 1984. His work was includes a book on South African women entitled Vukani Makhosakazi in 1985 as well as an exhibition Nicht Wird Uns Trennen (Nothing Will Separate Us) held in Bern in 1983. In 1994 he was part of a team of photographers documenting South Africa’s first democratic election for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

From 1998 to 2000 he served as director of the Market Photography Workshop in Johannesburg. He has taught and mentored local and foreign photography students and serves on the Board of the Bensusan Museum of Photography in Johannesburg. He has also taught at the Wits University School of the Arts, New York University Tisch School of Arts Exchange Programme and The School for International Training.

As a contribution to the professionalism of the industry of photography, Nunn has been on the national executive of the Professional Photographers of Southern Africa, a body representing photographers. He has been both judge and convener of the Fuji Press Photo Awards and judge on the Vodacom Awards.

Exhibitions

• 2016 Cedric Nunn: UNSETTLED at Iwalewa-Haus Bayreuth, Germany. Solo
• 2015 Cedric Nunn: UNSETTLED at UNISA Art Gallery, Pretora; Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg; KZNSA Gallery Durban; Galerie Seippel, Cologne, Germany; David Krut Projects, New York, NY, USA; Landesmuseum Hannover. Solo
• 2014 US Museum Stellenbosch with Seippel Gallery, Unsettled
• 2014 Albany Museum, Fort Selwyn, Grahamstown, Unsettled
• 2013 Cedric Nunn, Call and Response (international) Solo
• 2013 Lights, Camera, Fire Artspace, Durban. Group
• 2012 Rise and Fall of Apartheid, International Center for Photography (New York) Group.2012 Cedric Nunn: Call and Response (International) Solo. 2009 In Camera. Wits University, Johannesburg. Solo.
• 2007 Then and Now. Rhodes University, Durban Art Gallery. Group.
• 2005 Blood Relatives. Constitution Hill, Johannesburg. Solo.
• 2004. 'Fatherhood Project' MuseumAfrica.
• 'Children of Democracy' McGregor Museum in Kimberley.
• 2003. Youth on the Move. Parliament, Cape Town.
• Johannesburg Alive. Bogota, Columbia.
• Bamako. Maison's Descartes. Amsterdam Photography Biennale. Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• 2002. Group Portraits, Nine South African Families. Tropen Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• 2000. Every Child Is My Child. African Window Museum. Pretoria. Group.
• 2000. Capitals. Espace Matisse, Lille. France. Group.
• 2000. Living In A Strange Land. Parliament, Cape Town. Group.
• 2000. Emotions and Relations. Sandton Civic Gallery. Group.
• 1999. Democracies Images. Johannesburg Art Gallery. Group.
• 1999. Lines of Sight. The South African National Gallery. Cape Town. South Africa. Curated the exhibition "Photographs Denied"
• 1999. Workers. The Workers Library & Museum. Johannesburg. South Africa. Group.
• 1998. 3rd Festival of African Photography. Bamako, Mali. Group.
• 1998. Democracy's Images. Bildmuseet. Umea, Sweden. Group.
• 1998. National Development Agency. Workers Library. Johannesburg. South Africa.Group.
• 1997. Malhawu, Macufe Arts Festival. Bloemfontein. South Africa. Solo.
• 1997. NGO Coalition. Johannesburg. Group.
• 1997. Blood Relatives. Playhouse, Durban. South Africa. Solo.
• 1997. South African National Gallery Contemporary Collection. Cape Town. South Africa. Group.
• 1996. Colours. Berlin. Germany. Group.
• 1995. The Hidden Years. KwaMuhle Museum. Durban. South Africa. Solo.
• 1995. Black Looks, White Myths. 1st Johannesburg Biennale. South Africa. Group.
• 1994. This Land is Our Land. Bloemfontein. South Africa. Group.
• 1990. Zabalaza, London, United Kingdom. Group.
• 1989. Culture for Another South Africa, Amsterdam, Holland. Group.
• 1989. Health, South Africa & Germany. Group.
• 1989. Beyond the Barricades. Market Photography Gallery. South Africa. Group.
• 1988. Ten Years of Staffrider. Market Photography Gallery. South Africa. Group.
• 1988. Children. Johannesburg. South Africa. Group.
• 1987. History Workshop. Wits University. Johannesburg. South Africa. Group.
• 1987. Stop the Killings. University of Durban Westville. South Africa. Solo.
• 1985. South Africa - The Cordoned Heart, USA & South Africa. Group.
• 1984. Women at Work, Johannesburg. South Africa. Group.
• 1984. Bosmont. Johannesburg. South Africa. Solo.
• 1983. Nicht Wir Uns Trennen, Germany. Group.

Photographic Essays by Nunn

• Blood Relatives – An essay begun in the early eighties documenting the struggle against apartheid
• Cuito Cuanavale – An essay on the site of a military battle in the late eighties that brought about profound change in South Africa's political landscape
• Farm Workers – Documenting farm workers in South Africa's rural areas.
• Hidden Years – A photo essay included in Nunn's first solo exhibition at the KwaMuhle Museum in Durban in 1996. The photos were all taken in the Natal, Nunn's birthplace.
• In Camera – Photos from post-Apartheid South Africa, created in collaboration with the Apartheid Archive Study project.
• Jazz – An essay of Jazz musicians.
• Johannesburg – Photos taken in 2000 during the height of transformation in Johannesburg.
• Rural Development – Documenting rural life under democracy.
• SANPAD – A series of portraits of young parents in South Africa (part of an academic study).
• Struggle – Photos documenting South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy
• Then and Now – A project where eight South African photographers contribute photos from before and after the end of apartheid.

Publications

• 2012. Cedric Nunn: Call and Response.