‘Know me! But, remember that this is only part of who I am’: a participatory photo research project with migrant women sex workers in inner-city Johannesburg, South Africa

Oliveira, E. and Vearey, J. (2016) ‘Know me! But, remember that this is only part of who I am’: a participatory photo research project with migrant women sex workers in inner-city Johannesburg, South Africa.  In: Arnold, M. and Meskimmon, M.  (eds) Homeland:  Migration, Women, Citizenship. Liverpool University Press: Liverpool

Abstract:
In August 2010, a ten-day participatory photo research project entitled, ‘Working the City: Experiences of Migration Women in inner city Johannesburg’ , was conducted with eleven migrant women sex workers in inner-city Johannesburg.  The project formed the basis of a research study that sought to explore self (re)presentation and the influences of urban space on representation.  ‘Working the City’ involved collaboration between Sisonke Sex Worker Movement , Market Photo Workshop (MPW) , and the African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS)  at Wits University, and culminated in a month long public exhibition at the Market Photo Workshop Gallery in Johannesburg.  Since this initial exhibition, ‘Working the City’ has traveled throughout South Africa and beyond as both an example of a research study that utilized a visual methodology, and as an exhibition that encourages  public engagement with the ‘voices’ of a highly stigmatized, marginalized and under-represented urban group – migrant women who sell sex.

About Elsa Oliveira

Elsa Oliveira is a postdoctoral researcher at the African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS), Wits University, where she is also the co-coordinator of the MoVE (methods:visual:explore) project.

Since 2010, Elsa has been involved in a wide range of participatory arts-based projects with diverse migrant populations in rural and urban areas of South Africa. She has a PhD in Migration and Displacement and is interested in the areas of gender, migration, sexualities, wellbeing, and informal livelihood strategies.

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