Omar Badsha (born 27 June 1945) is a South African

documentary photographer Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life. It is typically undertaken as professional pho ...

, artist, political and trade union activist and an historian. He is a self-taught artist. He has exhibited his art in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and internationally. In 2015 he won the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Art. In 2017 he received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil), for his groundbreaking work in the field of documentary photography in South Africa. He was also awarded a Presidential honor The

Order of Ikhamanga The Order of Ikhamanga is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003 and is granted by the President of South Africa for achievements in arts, culture, literature, music, journalism, and sports (which were initially recognised b ...

in Silver for "His commitment to the preservation of our country’s history through ground-breaking and well-balanced research, and collection of profiles and events of the struggle for liberation"

Early life

Badsha was born in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

on 27 June 1945. He is a third-generation South African of Indian origin and comes from a

Gujarati Muslim The term Gujarati Muslim is usually used to signify an Indian Muslim from the state of Gujarat in western coast of India. Most Gujarati Muslims have Gujarati language as their mother tongue, but some communities such as the Momin Ansari, Memons ...

Sunni Bohra Sunni Vahoras or Sunni Bohras ( ar, سنی بوہرہ; also Jafari Bohras or Patani Bohras), are a community from the state of Gujarat in India. Sharing many cultural similarities with the Dawoodi Bohras, they are often confused with that com ...

family. His father Ebrahim Badsha was one of the South African pioneer black artists and a founding member of ''Bantu, Indian, Coloured Arts'' (BICA) organisation started by

artists in 1951. His artistry was impacted by his father's zest for

Arabic calligraphy Arabic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy based on the Arabic alphabet. It is known in Arabic as ''khatt'' ( ar, خط), derived from the word 'line', 'design', or 'construction'. Kufic is the oldest form of th ...

, the artwork of

Cecil Skotnes Cecil Skotnes (1 June 1926 – 4 April 2009) was a prominent South African artist. He was born in East London in 1926, studied drawing in Florence, Italy, the Witwatersrand Technical Art School and then the University of the Witwatersrand ...

and later, in life by the work of

Dumile Feni Zwelidumile Geelboi Mgxaji Mslaba "Dumile" Feni (May 21, 1942 – 1991) was a South African contemporary visual artist known for both his drawings and paintings that included sculptural elements as well as sculptures, which often depicted the st ...

Contributions

In the early 1960s, Badsha produced "resistance art" and won a number of awards including Sir

Basil Schonland Sir Basil Ferdinand Jamieson Schonland OMG CBE FRS (2 February 1896 – 24 November 1972) was noted for his research on lightning, his involvement in the development of radar during World War II and for being the first president of the South ...

prize in 1965 and the Oppenheimer award in 1969 after his work was featured in the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

exhibition ''Artists of Fame and Promise''. Badsha's art has featured in many exhibitions in 1970, his first solo exhibition was held at the Artists Gallery in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. He became an anti-apartheid activist during his high schools days. He was one of the activists who revived the

Natal Indian Congress The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was an organisation that aimed to fight discrimination against Indians in South Africa. The Natal Indian Congress was proposed by Mahatma Gandhi on 22 May 1894. established on 22 August 1894. Gandhi was the H ...

in the 1970s and the independent left-wing trade union movement that grew out of the famous 1973 Durban strikes. Badsha established and was the first secretary of the ''Chemical Workers Industrial Union''. During this time he was detained and harassed. He was denied a passport and never allowed to travel outside the country until 1990. In 1982 Badsha cofounded the multiracial organization

Afrapix Afrapix was a collective agency of amateur and professional photographers who opposed Apartheid in South Africa and documented South Africa in the 1980s. The group was established in 1982 and dissolved itself in 1991. About Afrapix Afrapix wa ...

. They took photojournalistic photographs of effects and impact of apartheid with the aim to create a picture library and "stimulate documentary photography". In 1987 helped establish The University of Cape Town's Centre for documentary photography. Badsha was the head of the photography unit of the Second Carnegie Commission on Poverty and Development. The study sought to revise the outcomes of the first Corporation study by commissioning more research into poverty in South Africa which would focus on both Black and White South Africans. An exhibition of the photographs included in the Second Carnegie Commission on Poverty and Development study was held at The

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. Badsha could not attend the opening of the exhibition as he was detained. The exhibition was later held throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and it became a book entitled South Africa: The Cordoned Heart. He is also the founder of

South African History Online The South African History Project (2001-2004) was established and initiated by Professor Kader Asmal, former Minister of Education in South Africa. This initiative followed after the publication of the Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy ...

SAHO, which he founded in 1999 it is South Africa's largest history website. Badsha runs SAHO and in 2009 the website won the South African NGO Coalition's NGO Web Awards in the category of Best Use of Social Web. He is the author of a number of photographic books. His first book co-authored with

Fatima Meer Fatima Meer (12 August 1928 – 12 March 2010) was a South African writer, academic, screenwriter, and prominent anti-apartheid activist. Early life Fatima Meer was born in the Grey Streets of Durban, South Africa, into a middle-class family ...

was ''A Letter to Farzanah''. It was published by the Institute for Black Research, at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

. The book was banned immediately after its publication in 1979. It was based on a letter to his daughter Farzanah. The book features 67 photographs of Black children living in

apartheid South Africa Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

along with key newspaper articles. His book Imijondolo: A Photographic Essay on Forced Removals in the Inanda District of South Africa was published in 1985 The book was inspired by his work as a local social change agent in the Inanda

informal settlement Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...

located outside of Durban, South Africa

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badsha, Omar 1945 births Living people Natal Indian Congress politicians South African photographers South African activists Documentary photographers Gujarati people