Frédérique Cifuentes

I am a multimedia producer working primarily with photography and video, a curator and educator leader based in London. My work is deeply informed and deeply enriched by my continuous multicultural experiences and cross-cultural dialogues. I explore the notions of identity, heritage and community.

I have a passion for capturing and conveying human narratives; evoking emotions, inspiring change, and fostering connections. I have received multiple grants from: the Arts Council England, AFAC, the Arab British Centre and various photo awards. Over the years, I have produced many creative, media and educational projects for major cultural organisations and international institutions, NGOs, festivals, museums, galleries, broadcasters and academics in the UK, the MENA Region and Sub-Saharan Africa.

My clients include UNESCO, British Council Sudan and South Sudan, The Association for Art History UK, The Institut français Londres, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the Sulger-Buel Gallery in London, the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Arab British Center, Action Contre la Faim, UNHCR, the French Embassy in Khartoum and The Rift Valley Institute.

I exhibited my work internationally in places such as the Africa Centre, the Brunei Gallery, Leighton House Museum London, the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris. The Independent, African Arts Magazine and Saudi Armamnco have published my worke, among others. My films have been screened in many festivals and broadcasted by the BBC Arabic, Al Arabia TV, Universal TV, S24 TV Sudan.

I have also curated significant international exhibitions such as: ‘World Press Freedom Day’ for UNESCO in Finland; ‘Sudan South Sudan Literature Week’; ‘Mogadishu 2030’ and ‘Sudan Singularities’ at P21 Gallery London; and ‘PhotoSudan Network’ at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. I hold a master degree in Anthropology Paris-X Nanterre; a postgraduate degree in Photojournalism London School of Communications; and a Documentary Filmmaking Certificate DFG’s DOCLAB, UK.

I hold a master degree in Anthropology from Paris-X Nanterre; a postgraduate degree in Photojournalism from London School of Communications; and a Documentary Filmmaking Certificate, DFG’s DOCLAB, UK. I am also a qualified and trained teacher of photography holding a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Tel: 0044 77177 55533
E-mail: fred.cifuentes@yahoo.com

Awards / Bursaries / Residencies / Screenings

2025   SUDANESE CINEMA : CHALLENGES AND RESILIANCE / Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, France
2025   Cinema Conversations Conference, hosted by Modern Sudan Collective the Docomomo Sudan Chapter
2024   South London Gallery, Black Cinema Project, UK
2024   Tokyo International Foto Awards, Silver winner, Japan
2024   Park Royal Design District / London Design Festival, Portrait Photography, UK
2024   Arab Women Artists Now (AWAN), Sudan in Focus: Memory and Vision, UK
2020   Nuits des Idées Institut français du Royaume-Uni, UK
2018    Arts Council England Artists’ International Development Fund, UK
2018    British Council Art Connect Us Research Grants: Sub-Saharan Africa, UK
2017-2013       Arab British Centre, UK
2017-2011       AFAC (Arabic Fund For Arts and Culture), Lebanon
2010    Art Grant Scheme, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, UK
2007    Merit photographer; The Fujifilm Distinctions Awards, UK
2007 – 2006    Artist in Residence, Leighton House Museum, UK
2006    Grants for the Arts, AArts Council England, UK
2006    Art Grant Scheme, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, UK
2005    Community Champions, The Scarman Trust, UK
2005    Award winner, Unltd, UK
2005    International Photography Awards, Honorable Mention, USA
2004    Grants for the Arts, Arts Council England, UK
2004    Prize-winner of the Humanity Photo Award, UNESCO
2003    CEDEJ, Centre Etudes et de Documentation Economiques, Juridiques et Sociales, France, Sudan
1995    Rebuilding Beirut, Land of Exclusion, first prize winner; Jussieu, Paris VII, France

Solo exhibitions

2013    Disappearing Heritage of Sudan 1820 – 1956, Mirghany Cultural Center, Sudan
2012    Disappearing Heritage of Sudan 1820 – 1956, Oriental Museum, UK
2012    Disappearing Heritage of Sudan 1820 – 1956, Brunei Gallery, London, UK
2010    Closer to Home, Leighton House Museum, UK
2007    Tableau Vivant and Evocative Orient, Leighton House Museum, UK
2003    Sufi Festivals in Sudan, Brunei Gallery, London, UK
2003    Sufi Festivals in Sudan, French Cultural Centre, Khartoum, Sudan

Group exhibitions

2023   Sudan Female Legacy: Art & Literature, Africa Centre, London, UK
2022   Art From the Sudanese Revolution, Sulger-Buel Gallery, London, UK
2018   Sudan South Sudan Literature Week, P21 Gallery, London, UK
2017    Mogadishu 2030, P21 Gallery, London, UK
2017    Sudan: Emergence of Singularities, P21 Gallery, London, UK
2016    World Press Freedom Day, UNESCO, Finland
2009   Cinema in Sudan, Format International Festival, UK
2005    Sufi Groups in Sudan, Khartoum 05, Sudan
2005    Kwoto Dance Company’s tour in Sudan, Royal Commonwealth Society, UK
2005    Sudanese Women Creators of Peace, British Museum, UK
2004    Sufi Festivals in Sudan, Assad Library, Syria
2004    Sufi Festivals in Sudan, Africa Days, UNESCO, France
2002    Sufi Festivals in Sudan, International Photographic Gathering of Aleppo, Syria

Publications

2024   Modernism in Africa. The Architecture of Angola, Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda. Edited by: Docomomo International.
2024   The African Gaze, Photography, Cinema and Power by Amy Sall / Thames & Hudson
2018    Hyperallergic, The Expansive Literary Output of Sudan and South Sudan
2017    The Arab Weekly, Sudanese artists showcased for first time in London
2017    Aramco World, Sudan: Emergence of Singularities
2013    Africa InVisu, “Disparition du patrimoine colonial du Soudan”, 1820-1956, France
2012    Mashallah News, “Cinema in Sudan”, Lebanon
2008    African Arts Magazine, Summer 2008, vol.41, “Sufi Sheikhs, Sheikhas, and Saints of the Sudan”, UCLA, USA
2006    Qantara magazine, Institut du Monde Arabe, “Le Soudan mystique”, France
2006    Church Times, “Sudan’s man of courage”, UK
2005    Artfides, “24 Hours in The Life Of The Catholic Church”, Germany, Ethiopia
2005    Africultures, l’Harmattan, “Parfums de femmes / Sudanese Women”, France
2005    MEED, Middle East Economical Digest, “Dragon on the Nile / Merowe Dam Sudan”, DUBAI
2005    The Independent Magazine, “Islamic World & Sudan”, UK
2004    Kegan Paul publisher, Sudan Handbook, UK
2004    Polo Quarterly, “A tradition continues, Polo in Khartoum”, UK