Reimagining Albus Favorite 

Through her work, South African art activist Athenkosi Kwinana aspires to deepen the understanding of Albinism in her native country, where she has faced discrimination in most aspects of her life from childhood days on. Working with both drawing and printmaking, Kwinana creates large self-portraits that aim to constructively reimagine the representation of Albinism in the country’s black communities and African contemporary art as whole. In 2022, Athenkosi earned her Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), where she currently lives and works. Represented by Berman Contemporary, Athenkosi has participated in several group exhibitions and put up her first solo exhibition, “Reimagining Albus”.
Kwinana received a Cultures of Resistance Award (CoR Award) in 2022 is using the award money to expand her Reimagining Albus project.

In an interview Kwinana states:
"To me, the term related to Albinism opens multiple streams of discourses such as colourism, race and gender dynamics. For my resident body of artworks, I explored the notion of colourism related to Albinism, thus the inspiration behind my body of artwork’s subheading: The Colour Series. In making my body of artworks, I have taken a stand to create rational and constructive imagery that tackles discourses related to Albinism. In regard to colourism – I create artworks that celebrate the uniqueness of black communities of South Africa. As a PLWA my skin does not primarily give off my blackness, as a result, my blackness is questioned. Instead of critiquing or ostracizing this facet of my identity, I would like to celebrate my blackness.
In making my artworks I use colour pencils on Fabriano paper. I am inspired by a South Korean visual artist who works with hands and the “floating face” as seen in my previous body of artworks Reimagining Albus...I refer to sign language to emphasise my desired messages.
...In creating my bodies of artworks, I aim to dispel the long standing irrational and discriminatory representation of PLWA. I maintain this by creating artworks that depict constructive and rational images of PLWA."