Kathleen Patricia Thrane

Kathleen Patricia Thrane is a painter, documentary-photographer, archaeologist, and activist. Her activism against apartheid included working with Dali Tambo, the son of African National Congress president Oliver Tambo and the founder of Artists Against Apartheid, in London during the 1980’s. In 1985-6, Thrane worked and lived in the townships of apartheid South Africa, using her skills as a photographer to document poverty and discrimination. Her work was difficult and dangerous. She entered South Africa in the guise of a fashion photographer and had to work in secret. In addition to her photography and painting, Thrane helped develop the sound track for the movie Cry Freedom; and she worked on concerts sponsored by Artists Against Apartheid, including the “Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute” in 1988, part of the campaign for Mandela’s release from Robben Island, where he was being held as a political prisoner.