Mário Macilau
Mário Macilau (b. 1984, Maputo, Mozambique) is a multidisciplinary artist, photographer, activist and author whose practice explores memory, identity, belonging, power, the human condition and the relationship between people and their environments.
Through long-term, research-based projects, he examines social transformation, historical legacies, marginalisation and environmental change. His approach combines sustained field research, portraiture and visual storytelling to question established narratives and investigate the relationship between individual experience and collective history.
Largely self-taught, Macilau began exploring photography in 2003 and became a professional photographer in 2007. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the 56th Venice Biennale, Tate Modern, the Saatchi Gallery in London, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Dakar Biennale. His first major photobook, Growing in Darkness, was published by Kehrer Verlag in 2015, featuring contributions by Roger Ballen, Mia Couto, Simon Njami and Olivia Nitis, alongside an interview by Gabriela Salgado.
His distinctions include the James Barnor African Photography Prize (2023), the Roger Pic Prize (2023), the Denis Diderot Residency Award (2019) and the Cultures of Resistance Award (2022). He was shortlisted for the Norval Sovereign African Art Prize in 2023 and nominated for the Portuguese Art Prize 2025 with his work Harvest in Fragments. In 2026, his project Tides of Memory received a USD 3,000 grant from Arete Arts. He also served as a jury member for the James Barnor Prize’s Southern Africa edition in 2026. His work has been featured by international media, including Al Jazeera’s Artscape and CNN’s African Voices Changemakers.
Macilau lives and works between Maputo and Johannesburg.
Mário Macilau (b. 1984, Maputo, Mozambique) is a multidisciplinary artist, photographer, activist and author whose practice explores memory, identity, belonging, power, the human condition and the relationship between people and their environments.
Through long-term, research-based projects, he examines social transformation, historical legacies, marginalisation and environmental change. His approach combines sustained field research, portraiture and visual storytelling to question established narratives and investigate the relationship between individual experience and collective history.
Largely self-taught, Macilau began exploring photography in 2003 and became a professional photographer in 2007. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at the 56th Venice Biennale, Tate Modern, the Saatchi Gallery in London, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Dakar Biennale. His first major photobook, Growing in Darkness, was published by Kehrer Verlag in 2015, featuring contributions by Roger Ballen, Mia Couto, Simon Njami and Olivia Nitis, alongside an interview by Gabriela Salgado.
His distinctions include the James Barnor African Photography Prize (2023), the Roger Pic Prize (2023), the Denis Diderot Residency Award (2019) and the Cultures of Resistance Award (2022). He was shortlisted for the Norval Sovereign African Art Prize in 2023 and nominated for the Portuguese Art Prize 2025 with his work Harvest in Fragments. In 2026, his project Tides of Memory received a USD 3,000 grant from Arete Arts. He also served as a jury member for the James Barnor Prize’s Southern Africa edition in 2026. His work has been featured by international media, including Al Jazeera’s Artscape and CNN’s African Voices Changemakers.
Macilau lives and works between Maputo and Johannesburg.
