Mwivanda Gloria, experimental Kenyan photographer exploring Africa

Gloria is a Nomadic Artist backpacking through Africa collecting pockets full of stories with her camera and pen. She is an explorer and a collector. In her travels, she collects stories, friends, interesting rocks, second-hand books, bird feathers, and pet street cats.

How did you first get into photography?

I first got into photography during my undergraduate in my Photography 101 class. After the semester I insisted on getting my first camera, passionately learning everything about it and carrying it everywhere, and it has been that way since then.

What type(s) of photography do you specialise in, and why did you choose this niche?

My style is experimental. This style gives me plenty of room to be playful and experiment with other styles of photography, different subjects, and landscapes. It keeps growing and evolving in different settings that I find myself but ultimately remains fun and true to who I am as an artist.

Can you share the underlying themes or ideas that drive your photography? How do you use your images to connect with others?

As I backpack through the continent, my photography challenges me to explore outside my comfort zone. 

I explore more intentionally and keenly because I am aware that I am telling other people's stories. I strive to preserve dignity and capture with compassion different subjects and scenes. As an African artist, I know too well the danger of the eye that takes and packages to fit in boxes. I task myself in this journey to bear witness and show Afrocentric realities from an inward perspective even as I learn and unlearn realities of different people, tribes, and nations across Africa.

What's the one achievement or moment in your photography career that you're most proud of?

One achievement I am most proud of is being published in Picha's Weaving Stories Vol. 1 alongside a collective of other photographers of African descent from around the world. It was the first time I saw my work in a book. My body of work published in the book is titled As Within, So Without and is a conceptual self-portraiture series exploring the relationship between man and nature.

What's the biggest challenge you've faced as a photographer, and how did you overcome it?

Being a full-time photographer, my biggest challenge has always been money. Right now, I’m backpacking across Africa with no savings and no plan B.

How do I manage it? I have a theory I call finding the third way.

The first way would be to stay in my home country, get a 9–5, and spend my days wondering what if?

The second way would be to look for a shortcut — crime, marrying up, or something equally unsustainable.

With both those ways off the table, I’ve had to find a third way to make things work.

I trade my photography for a place to sleep and food. I write for money whenever I can. I create and sell stock photos online. I live in hostels and short stays, travel by public transport, and eat where the locals eat — nothing too fancy.So far, I’m still on the road. 

My third way is working. And the lesson I’ve learned is simple: there is always a third way.

If you could collaborate with anyone who would it be and why? Add his/her Instagram link to your answer.

I'd love to work with Zenele Muholi.

What are your thoughts on the 54Ruum platform?

It's a great platform to highlight photographers across the continent. Great job guys!

How's the photography and art space in your country? How has it evolved in recent years?

I am currently not in my country (Kenya) and haven't been for a while, but photography and art in Kenya are quite diverse and in recent years have shaped up into a great and respectable industry.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone just starting their photography journey, what would it be?

Just do it! Do it imperfect, do it with a bad camera, do it everywhere, do it shy and scared. Do it anyway.