Roberta Crumplin

I have a Fine Arts degree from UCT in painting and photography. My final year exhibition was a mixed media installation with photographs, painting and found objects that explored the idea of family, history and connection (family is very important to me). I won a couple of scholarships to study further and so did a combined honours degree in English and History of Art and while I had intended to do a Masters in English - with an eye to lecturing in English - I realised that academia was a little too cold and removed for me.

Instead, I went into teaching, and my life was forever changed. I taught Art (and photography) and English at a private school in Cape Town, doing all the school's photography and the layout, design and copy on their school magazine. The kids I taught were amazing and their creativity spurred my own and I realised how much I wanted to devote my energy to my photography.