Simphiwe Fuwe Molefe (b. 1990, Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal) is a documentary and narrative photographer based in Katlehong, South Africa. He joined the Of Soul and Joy photography programme in 2019, where he was introduced to photography as a tool for storytelling and social reflection.
Molefe’s work has since been widely exhibited as he recently presented his project Ungowakwethu wena in a group exhibition at the JSE,. In 2025, his photographs were featured in I Put My Hand on My Chest to Feel My Heartbeat at Constitution Hill, a milestone that led to coverage in the Mail & Guardian. In 2024, he exhibited at the Joburg FNB Art Fair.
In 2023, he was named Global Citizen’s Emerging Creative of the Month, and he is also the recipient of the 17th Tierney Fellowship, one of South Africa’s most respected photography awards.His projects have appeared in numerous group exhibitions, including Through the Lens Collective (portrait exhibition), Uhambo at Umhlabathi Gallery, and in the Of Soul and Joy tenthanniversary book, where his project Dikarabo was published alongside the work of nine other South African photographers. A graduate of the Market Photo Workshop’s Advanced Photography Programme, Molefe continues to build a distinct voice within contemporary South African photography, exploring themes of identity, community, and lived experience.
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Simphiwe Fuwe Molefe (b. 1990, Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal) is a documentary and narrative photographer based in Katlehong, South Africa. He joined the Of Soul and Joy photography programme in 2019, where he was introduced to photography as a tool for storytelling and social reflection.
Molefe’s work has since been widely exhibited as he recently presented his project Ungowakwethu wena in a group exhibition at the JSE,. In 2025, his photographs were featured in I Put My Hand on My Chest to Feel My Heartbeat at Constitution Hill, a milestone that led to coverage in the Mail & Guardian. In 2024, he exhibited at the Joburg FNB Art Fair.
In 2023, he was named Global Citizen’s Emerging Creative of the Month, and he is also the recipient of the 17th Tierney Fellowship, one of South Africa’s most respected photography awards.His projects have appeared in numerous group exhibitions, including Through the Lens Collective (portrait exhibition), Uhambo at Umhlabathi Gallery, and in the Of Soul and Joy tenthanniversary book, where his project Dikarabo was published alongside the work of nine other South African photographers. A graduate of the Market Photo Workshop’s Advanced Photography Programme, Molefe continues to build a distinct voice within contemporary South African photography, exploring themes of identity, community, and lived experience.
