Mário Macilau

Mário Macilau (b. 1984, Mozambique) is a Maputo-based artist working primarily with photography. His long-term series examine labor, displacement, and environmental realities. He began photographing on the streets of Maputo in 2003 and, in 2007, traded his mother’s cellphone for a camera, launching his professional practice. Macilau has exhibited internationally, including the Holy See Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale (2015); Making Africa at the Vitra Design Museum (2015); Pangaea at the Saatchi Gallery (2014); and Afrique Capitales, Paris (2017). He has participated in festivals and biennales in Saint-Louis, Łódź, Lubumbashi, Réunion, Bamako, Dhaka, and Lagos. Honors include winning  the James Barnor Prize for African Photography (2023),  and  Roger Pic Prize  (2023),  being shortlisted for the MAST Award (2019), UNICEF Photo of the Year (2009), and finalist for the Greenpeace Photo Award (2016). His work is held in major collections, including the Centre Pompidou and Quai Branly Museum.

Macilau is represented by Ed Cross Fine Art.