Reframing Zulu Collection: Powell-Cotton Museum

In April 2026, I was commissioned by the Powell-Cotton Museum to help reframe one of the UK's most significant collections of Zulu material culture by bringing contemporary Zulu voices into conversation with the historic collection.​Working as a photographer, documentary filmmaker and cultural consultant, I documented the stories of four individuals whose work continues to preserve, celebrate and reinterpret Zulu heritage in the United Kingdom. The project explored fashion, food, hair, music, dance and identity, demonstrating that culture is not confined to museum objects. It is something that continues to evolve through the lives of people today.​The project included documentary films, portrait photography, contributor profiles and curatorial storytelling, creating a contemporary layer of interpretation that now forms part of the museum's permanent exhibition.​Throughout the production, I was particularly interested in the connections between communities across Southern Africa and the wider diaspora. Rather than presenting culture as fixed or isolated, the stories reveal how traditions continue to be carried, adapted and celebrated across generations, countries and communities while retaining their distinct identities.