A Lens on Refugee Life: The Story of the Dream Magical Studio in Kakuma and The Man Behind The Camera
Capturing Stories from Kakuma Refugee Camp, the Dream Magical Studio wants to make memories for the people in Kakuma and improve their living conditions through the power of visual storytelling. We talk with one of the managing partners, Atem about the studio’s mission and his own relay into photography
By Devyani Nighoskar
A woman smiles as she helps her daughter wear a long beaded earring. The daughter breaks into a smile, too.
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Two men sit on low-level stools, making baskets out of wires. As their hands weave skillfully, they engage in conversation. A woman dressed in a bright tiger-print abaya is helping them out.
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A woman with a measuring tape around her neck makes a white dress on a sewing machine. She seems pretty focused but manages to smile….for the camera.
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These photos taken over the last few years hang on the tin wall of a small photo studio in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya, featuring refugees from the camps. These photographs have much to say about the politics of representation and the man behind the camera — a refugee himself.
However, when 27-year-old Atem joined the Dream Magical Studio almost three years ago, he was not thinking about the politics of representation. His aim was and still is to ‘permanently connect people and create memories through photos’.
“We want people to remember their time in Kakuma as they move on to their new lives — sooner or later. These photos will serve as a reminder of the hardships they have overcome and the bonds they have made along the way,” says Atem.
Clad in blue jeans and a plain orange shirt that complements the vibrant orange hue of the tin wall behind him, Atem is seated on a swivel chair at his desk. In our interview meeting, in a compact room behind the expansive Dream studio, he grips the camera draped around his neck — adeptly balancing work calls and appointments. He offers me a glimpse into his routine before he unfolds his story, sharing the essence of his dream that led him to the Dream Magical Studio.
In Pursuit of Education
Atem was born in 1996 in the Laboni Resettlement Camp in South Sudan, near the border with Uganda — a place his parents had sought refuge in during the war. His early memories in the camp are marked by a deep yearning for education — which was disrupted constantly due to frequent ambushes and attacks.
“I used to watch other kids head to school while I was out grazing sheep, and I couldn’t help but long to be among them. Night after night, I dreamt of sitting in a classroom, learning with those children. Waking up to the reality that I had to herd animals instead was heartbreaking,” Atem says.
Deprived of education in war-time South Sudan, Atem and his family faced displacement multiple times. He recalls a summer night when the army attacked the village he was staying in, and he had to run away in the middle of the night with his mother and siblings to the border town of Kapoeta, where they lived for a year. “I saw some other people running without clothes and bodies of people who had died; it was a horrifying image being a child and seeing such events terrified me for days,” recalls Atem.
Motivated by the dual desire to escape the war and access quality education — Atem was compelled to seek a safer and more promising environment.
“My aunt, who was in the Kakuma refugee camp then, became my beacon of hope. After discussing with my mother, she agreed to let me leave the country to live with my aunt,” Atem recounts.
His mother funded the journey to Kakuma, arranging for a shared car for the then 12-year-old Atem.
“A few weeks after I moved to Kakuma, my aunt and her family moved to Eldoret, and I accompanied them. That’s where I began my education in earnest, finishing Class 8 in 2014,” Atem shares.
After finishing his primary education, Atem returned to Kakuma for the next phase of his education. It was here in his high school that Atem first encountered a camera — a Canon 40 D owned by a friend. “I was instantly fascinated. It was around World Refugee Day, and we went out to capture photos of fellow camp residents, focusing on the camp’s diversity,” Atem recalls. This was perhaps the beginning of a dream — to meaningfully represent and tell stories of people living in one of the world’s biggest refugee camps.
Over the next few years, Atem learned the basics from his friend, enthusiastically photographing surrounding landscapes. In 2017, he joined a one-year photography course at FilmAid, which is where the seeds for the Dream Magical Studio were first sown.
Realising The Dream Of The Photo Studio
A group of 17 students — all refugees — at FilmAid applied their newfound capabilities and established a photo studio and small media company within the camp. They aimed to document refugee stories as a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) that would positively impact and engage the community. Atem joined the Dream Magical Studio in 2017 as a photographer, and became a partner in 2019, inspired by its commitment to storytelling and community engagement.
The studio’s early days were aided by crucial funding and infrastructure support. The initial seed funding was graciously provided by a photographer from the US, who not only taught some members but also donated the first camera, a 40D. Subsequently, additional support came in various forms, including a donation of a printer and financial assistance from humanitarian organisations for rental space, enabling the studio to offer services such as event coverage and videography.
Dream Magical Studio offers a diverse array of services, primarily focusing on visual storytelling. Specialising in event photography, studio portraits, and wedding photography, they also offer photography courses, poster design services, printing, and lamination.
Within the array of services offered by Dream Magical Studio, fashion photography holds a special place of affection for its members — especially for Atem. This preference stems from the vibrant creativity and diversity seen within the camp.
“I find joy in capturing African styles that showcase various designs and cultural richness and representations in fashion. This focus not only allows one to capture an individual’s artistic expression, which is symbolic of their stories, but it also serves to highlight and celebrate the unique identity and heritage of the African continent,” explains Atem.
Localising Visual Storytelling — One Photo At a Time
While the studio predominantly caters to the local community, it has also been working with humanitarian organisations to document their impact within the camp.
“I hope that more humanitarian organisations and journalists who come to work in Kakuma will hire us to document their narratives in the camp. We have the skills, live experience, and cultural understanding to do it better,” Atem says, elaborating on some of the projects they have worked on for international humanitarian organisations such as UN-Habitat, World Vision, etc.
Snapshots of these can be seen on the walls of the Dream Magical Studio. Initially rented the studio, owing to its popularity in the camp and success, eventually secured the opportunity to purchase and renovate the space in 2020, establishing a permanent base for its operations. The studio opens to a small but warm and welcoming reception space — with some plastic chairs for visitors, pamphlets of services offered on the walls, certificates and photographs of the various events they have done.
On the left, a door leads into an expansive white-tiled studio space with white walls, softbox lighting kits, backdrop stands, etc. A narrow door leads back into the ‘office’ — a semi-outdoor space where the photo editing and processing happens. This is where I am seated with Atem before he takes me to another space through the office. It is in a small room, with cardboard boxes around the corner.
“This is the space that I want to convert into an exhibition hall — to showcase stories and photos from the camp,” says Atem, explaining that the studio is saving up money for this endeavour.
While the studio was initially supported by foundational funding, the studio now primarily relies on the revenue generated from its services. This income supports the studio’s operational costs and community outreach efforts, such as offering photography classes to neighbouring schools.
Towards More ‘Dreams’
Looking towards the future, Dream Magical Studio harbours ambitious aspirations. One significant dream is to eventually become a leading entity in the media industry of South Sudan — where most of its current partners are from. The studio contemplates opening additional outlets, potentially serving as platforms to narrate untold stories about the various communities in South Sudan.
“Despite everything that is happening there, it is still my home, and I hope that I can contribute to my homeland by spotlighting the stories of the country and its people,” Atem exclaims.
He says he wants to go back, the safest way, as a nightmare constructs his dream.
“I travelled from Kakuma, it was a long journey, from here to Mombasa, and we then took a boat to the northern parts of Africa, and our journey to South America started. My dream was not over when my alarm went off, but I woke up when I was in the Mediterranean Sea. I was scared when I woke up from my dream because, in that situation, all I could think about was death. I was the only South Sudanese on the boat with Ghanaians, Eritreans and Somalis. The only thing I remember is that we were seated, had nothing, and were waiting to be instructed and told that we had reached our destination. Most people were scared because we were in a dark space; all we could hear were water and waves. I could also remember hearing some people scream. I was terrified when I woke up from the dream. I went to school, and I was moody the whole day. I did not talk to people that day, and the dream stuck with me until I slept and woke up the next morning. The most striking image that stuck with me was the image of death, images of the boats capsizing, and that made me terrified. I did not tell anyone about that dream. I think the dream meant that I should be patient and be content/happy with what I have at the moment and wait for my time to come because I dreamt of risking my life and moving out of the situation,” reflects Atem.
He thinks about the dream and what it may symbolise more often than he likes. However, he believes that it reminds him not to make any hasty decisions, to keep working hard and with integrity, and to seize opportunities that come his way. “Much like this interview,” he says, smiling.
As we near the end of our interview, I will ask him about the resettlement process and what happens to the studio when he has to leave Kakuma, like several of the previous partners have.
“That is just the nature of our lives. The people I work with at the studio are not those I worked with last year. The studio recruits annually from within the camp, who take on partner responsibilities,” he adds.
Living in ‘temporariness’, Atem hopes that Dream Magical Studio will continue to capture memories in Kakuma, even if the people behind the camera may change.
