Thero Makepe Receives The PhMuseum 2025 Photobook Award

© Thero Makepe © Thero Makepe © Thero Makepe View all images ↓
View all images ↓

His work We Didn't Choose To Be Born Here examines Botswana and South Africa’s socio-political fabric through a personal lens. Dragan Saric claims MBP's Special Mention with Tomorrow Hotel. Read the judges' motivations and learn more on their projects.

This article is realised in collaboration with MPB, Europe’s top camera reseller and main partner of the PhMuseum 2025 Photobook Award.

A jury comprised of Max Pinckers (Photographer), Yumi Goto (Independent curator, Publisher), Karla Hiraldo Voleau (Photographer), Giuseppe Oliverio (PhMuseum Founding and Artistic Director), and Camilla Marrese (PhMuseum Visual Editor) has assigned the PhMuseum 2025 Photobook Award to Botswanan multimedia artist Thero Makepe for his project We Didn't Choose To Be Born Here. The announcement was made on 18 October during Photobook Mania 2025 Award Ceremony in Bologna, Italy.

Judge Yumi Goto commented: "I truly believe this is a very deserving choice – a project that perfectly embodies the spirit of what a photobook award should stand for. It’s also a meaningful recognition for the wider community, and I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Thero."

Judge Karla Hiraldo Voleau further said: "It’s safe to say that, from the start it was a proposal that impressed us all, whether for its theme or for the generosity with which it was treated. I loved the way Thero wove personal family stories with the national histories of Botswana and South Africa: despite the heaviness of reality, the corpus stays luminous and hopeful. The richness of the image typologies and the innovative use of archival material were also striking. Congratulations to Thero, well deserved, and I’m very excited to see the outcome of his first photobook!"

Judge Giuseppe Oliverio added that "Thero's work is based on solid research and a genuine collaborative approach, offering a contemporary narrative where both information and personal narrative convey a relevant story. We can't wait to start working together to engage with the projects' layers and give life to a book worthy of his effort and passion."

The project's title is drawn from a sentiment shared by different family members during times of crisis, separation, and ennui. Through a blend of staged portraiture, re-enactments, documentary images, and extensive archival materials, Makepe's work delves into themes of personal responsibility versus collective struggle, the impact of social class on ideology, and intergenerational trauma. The narrative also incorporates his own activist experiences during the 2016 #FeesMustFall protests at the University of Cape Town, a movement fighting for free, decolonized education across all South African universities.

Through this first edition of the open call, Makepe's work will be published as a photobook curated by PhMuseum, who will cover production and distribution costs, and will be officially launched during the 2026 edition of PhMuseum Days in Bologna, Italy. The book will have a minimum print run of 500 copies, with 50 copies and 5% of royalties destined to the author.

In collaboration with PhMuseum, MPB has also identified Dutch photographer from SFR Yugoslavia Dragan Saric and his project Tomorrow Hotel for their Special Mention, granting a €800 voucher to spend on used photo and video gear on mpb.com.

Carmen Spella, MPB Senior Partnerships and Collaborations Manager EU, comments on his work: "Tomorrow Hotel captivated us with its quiet power and emotional depth. A poetic reflection on transformation, identity, and the spaces that hold our stories. His book opens a space for empathy, reflection, and renewed vision. This is the kind of work we love to champion, the kind that speaks across borders, across silence, asking us to see differently. In partnership with PhMuseum, MPB is honored to amplify this voice. We warmly congratulate Dragan on this well-deserved recognition."

Saric's work explores the fluid nature of identity, home, and belonging, originating from parallels drawn between the author's lost Yugoslavian identity and Taiwan's contemporary search for self-definition during a mandatory hotel quarantine. Through essays and a traditionally bound artist book designed to evoke this in-between state, the project serves as a poetic journey for individuals and nations haunted by their past, perpetually trapped between longing for what was and belonging to what will be, ultimately offering a space to contemplate an identity beyond these confines.

A big thank you to all participants, judges, and organisations who supported this 1st edition. The 30 shortlisted projects are displayed at Photobook Mania 2025, and featured in our new Annual printed magazine. If you are not in Bologna this weekend, you can still enjoy all the selected and shortlisted projects at phmuseum.com/pb25.

--------------

MPB, Europe’s top camera reseller, is the main partner of the PhMuseum 2025 Photobook Award.For over 10 years, MPB has made used photo and video gear more accessible. With experts in Berlin checking and individually photographing every item, MPB offers camera equipment you can trust, with a free twelve-month guarantee for added peace of mind. More than half of us have a camera at home we’re not using. Find out exactly how much your kit is worth with a free instant quote from MPB. Take advantage of free, insured shopping to send in your gear, and get paid directly into your bank account.