Santu Mofokeng was born in Johannesburg in 1956. He grew up in and around Soweto, spending most of his childhood in Orlando East. Mofokeng’s initial experiences with photography were as a teen when on of his sisters gave him his first camera. Santu Mofokeng’s first international retrospective opened in May 2011 at the Jeu de Paume Paris and subsequently travelled to Kunsthalle Bern in the latter part of 2011 and Bergen Kunsthall and the Wits Art Museum in Johannesburg in 2012. In May 2013 he participated in the 55th International Art Exhibition – La Biennalle di Venezia on the German Pavilion. In February 2016 it was announced that Mofokeng was the winner of the first International Photography prize established by the Fondazione Fotografia Modena. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature from Wits University, Johannesburg on July 4, 2016.