Today’s session was a joint meet with the U3AC Africa Forum, at which Kerstin Hacker presented the project she is working on in Zambia, ‘Generation Z’. Kerstin’s starting point is the belief that many aspects of African life are still shaped by colonial influences. This includes photographic culture, which is based on an outdated legacy of historical and traditional images, ‘reference material’, reflecting often the demands of western media. Pictures of wildlife, the Victoria Falls and national parks on one hand, and what Susan Sontag has called ‘memorable sites of suffering’ on the other, do not reflect the daily life of people in Lusaka where Kerstin is working.
Kerstin Hacker, Generation Z 
Kerstin Hacker at the U3AC
Her aim is to find a new visual perspective that will replace the preconceptions and correct misrepresentations. She photographs ordinary places and ordinary people and is building networks to create a different imagery of the country. She is not photographing in isolation: she works to promote visual literacy; supports the emerging creative industry; and is helping to develop courses in photographic education. See https://kerstinhacker.org/zambia/.