Art Works Projects

Here at the Oslo Freedom Forum an endless inspiration of art and protest - this exhibition makes each one of us a participant in ending tyranny.

Carmen Lau has a $1,000,000 bounty on her head - placed there by the Hong Kong authorities who are frightened by the demands of Carmen and her colleagues for the right to participate in their own government. Rather than stand down, Carmen has just stood up on this stage and so many others and confirmed her commitment to protest.

Through “The Invincibles in Plastic Recycling,” our 2023-2024 Emerging Lens Fellow, Edwin Ndeke, documents the daily reality of workers, those fighting for both livable conditions and a livable planet, who are essential to our collective survival yet remain marginalized: the paradox of an industry built on their labor that refuses them basic rights. 

On March 8, The Guardian published Edwin’s photo essay, “Life on Kenya’s largest dump: the invisible workers sorting the world’s rubbish”: https://bit.ly/4tb82Ht. 

For two years, has been photographing the waste pickers who scale trash mountains to recover vast amounts of plastic and recyclables that would otherwise release methane in landfills. They enable corporations to meet reduction targets. They are, quite literally, on the frontlines of climate action.

On March 30th, we invite you to join AWP and Alliance Française Nairobi for the debut of Edwin’s exhibition “Unseen Frontliners: Nairobi’s Informal Workers Addressing Plastic Waste.” Aligning with UN International Day of Zero Waste, this exhibition runs through April 10, 2026. On opening day, join Edwin for a panel discussion along with representatives from , and . Together, they will examine the gaps in mainstream media coverage of waste and plastic pollution and how community-led photography is reclaiming the narrative.

As Emerging Lens Fellowship celebrates its 10th anniversary, it is work like Edwin’s that reminds us why long-form, community-centered storytelling matters. Continue to support community-centered storytelling at artworksprojects.org/support-our-work/.