LUSAKA
THROUGH
A LENS

Sana Ginwalla, founder and curator of Everyday Lusaka Gallery, is keeping track of Zambia’s rich history by archiving
and exhibiting photographs of the nation’s day-to-day life

At the busy corner of Cairo and Chachacha Road in Lusaka sits the EW Tarry Building. Once a colonial trading post, then the headquarters of Zambia’s ruling party, this historic site is now home to the forward-looking Everyday Lusaka Gallery.

Opened in 2024 by 29-year-old Sana Ginwalla, the gallery champions work by Zambian artists who explore themes of memory and identity. Artist William B Miko described its launch as “intellectual gangsterism”, a bold reclaiming of space once tied to colonial power.

Born in the Zambian capital in 1996 to an Indian-Zambian family, artist, curator and writer Ginwalla grew up conscious of the gap between how she experienced living in Lusaka, and how her country was represented overseas. In 2018 she opened her Everyday Lusaka account on Instagram, sharing her own photos of city life – from children playing in the streets to buses packed with commuters. Her idea was simple: to show Lusaka as it is, smashing the stereotypes and presenting a metaphorical mirror in which locals could see themselves in the city they call home. Intentional about connecting with everyone who walks through the doors of the gallery, Ginwalla’s exhibitions often go beyond the usual art experience. Visitors are encouraged to take part, whether by sharing their own stories or trying to identify familiar faces in the photographs. For Ginwalla, archiving is a way for people to connect to their own sense of belonging.

SANA GINWALLA’S WORK IS SINGLE-HANDEDLY PROTECTING THE HERITAGE OF LUSAKA

Ginwalla is also responsible for “Zambia Belonging”, an extensive photographic archive that she started after finding hundreds of negatives hidden in the attic of Lusaka’s Fine Art Studios. From ancient family portraits to decades-old street scenes, this chest of treasures, which is constantly expanding thanks to people donating their own personal images as well as their families’, is helping to keep memories alive that might otherwise have been lost.

As well as showing and archiving photos of Lusaka past and present (above) Everyday Lusaka Gallery hosts shows by Zambian artists such as Daudi M Yves (below) whose exhibit ‘Ulendo – A Search For Belonging’ ran earlier this year

As much an historian as a patron of the arts, Ginwalla’s work has reached audiences across the world, with exhibitions at the India Art Fair and Mali’s Bamako Encounters (the African Biennale of Photography) and displays at both Oxford and Cambridge universities in the United Kingdom. This month Everyday Lusaka will have its first stand at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London, showcasing work that explores the history of the Indian-Zambian diaspora. Ginwalla was also responsible for writing and curating Lusaka Street, Zambia’s first archival photo-book of street images by Zambian photographer Alick Phiri.

By building and carefully maintaining this extraordinary archive of Lusaka’s history, Ginwalla is single-handedly protecting the city’s heritage, enabling the people of Zambia to place themselves in their own history, not only within everyday life, but also as a part of the development of the nation itself.

Takudzwa Nyambi

Everyday Lusaka Gallery, EW Tarry Building, Kalundwe Road, Lusaka.
IG: @everydaylusaka