An Insider’s View of Joy and Beauty in Africa’s Biggest Shantytown

Through Kibera Stories, Brian Otieno looks beyond the stark realities that have defined his hometown’s visual narrative to photograph innovative fashion, art and everyday life.

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/lens/kibera-stories-photography-africa.html

As Brian Otieno was waiting to start college six years ago, he spent his days snapping pictures with his phone as he wandered the unpaved streets and alleyways of Kibera, a sprawling shantytown on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Often referred to as Africa’s largest slum, Kibera is home to up to a million people living side by side in ramshackle homes. Poverty, crime and hardship have long defined its visual narrative.