BIOGRAPHY
Nadia Ettwein (b.1984) is a contemporary lens-based artist based in Cape Town, South Africa.
With a background in Information science, she transitioned into photography as a way to preserve and reinterpret personal narratives. Her work is known for its introspective exploration of trauma, identity, domesticity, and the complexities of womanhood in post-apartheid South Africa.
She is a 2023 winner of the CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography, a finalist for the Gomma Photography Grant, and was shortlisted for the PhMuseum 2023 Woman Photographers Grant. Recently, she was also a finalist for the Gomma Black and White Awards of 2025.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Athens Photo Festival 2024, Notamuseum in Lisbon, and Lizamore & Associates in Johannesburg.
She resonates with the complexities of the human experience, reflecting on her own identity and abuse. Nadia continues to work on projects in analogue, digital and printed mediums.
She is a Through The Lens Collective mentee.
FEATURED ON
- Featured on Latitudes Online.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- 2023 CAP prize winner
- 2023 PhMuseum Woman Photographer Grant - Shortlisted
- 2023 Gomma Photography Grant - Finalist
- 2024 Joop Swart Masterclass - Nominee
- 2024 Prix Virginia - Finalist
- 2025 Gomma Black & White Awards - Finalist
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2022
Shutterland by Lizamore and Associates. Johannesburg, South Africa.
(IM)Materiality by Notamuseaum. Lisbon, Portugal.
Everything, Everyone, Always by Through the lens collective. Johannesburg, South Africa.
2023
Portrait Show by Through the Lens Collective. Johannesburg, South Africa.
2024
August House Contra Fair. Through the Lens Collective, Johannesburg. South Africa.
Athens Photo Festival 2024. Athens, Greece.
ARTICLES
