James Okello is a documentary photographer whose work centres on communities navigating change — economic, political, climatic. He grew up in Kisumu, Kenya, studied photojournalism in Nairobi, and has spent the last decade dividing his time between East Africa and London’s Ghanaian and Ugandan communities.
His practice is built on long-term relationships. He does not arrive, photograph, and leave. He returns, repeatedly, over years, earning access to places and moments that would be invisible to a visiting photographer. The result is work of unusual density and intimacy.
His series Matatu (2019) documented Nairobi’s minibus network and its drivers over eighteen months. The Corridor (2022) followed residents of a London council estate facing demolition. His current project, After Rain, is being made in the fishing communities around Lake Victoria.
Okello shoots on 35mm film, developed by hand, and makes his own prints. He is a founding member of the Nairobi Documentary Collective.
Selected Exhibitions
After Rain (work in progress), Format International Photography Festival, Derby, 2024
The Corridor, The Photographers’ Gallery, London, 2023
Matatu, Alliance Française, Nairobi, 2020
African Realities, Addis Foto Fest, 2019
Publications
Matatu — artist book, Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, 2020
World Press Photo — nominee, long-term projects, 2023
Document Journal — feature, issue 22
Education
Diploma in Photojournalism, Nairobi School of Visual Arts, 2012
Documentary Photography Masterclass, World Press Photo Foundation, 2015
