Mário Macilau (b. 1984, Mozambique, lives and works in Maputo) is a multi-disciplinary artist most known for his photography.
Macilau specialises in long-term photography projects and series that address the complex realities of human labour and environmental conditions. Macilau started his journey as a photographer in 2003 from the streets of Maputo, becoming professional when he traded his mother's cell phone for his first camera in 2007.
Selected exhibitions include: Songs of the Present, Musée de la Photographie de Saint Louis, Senegal (2018); Afrique Capitales, La Villette, Paris (2017); Pavilion of the Holy See, 56th Venice Biennale (2015); Making Africa, Vitra Museum, Weil am Rhein (2015); Discovery Show, Fotofestiwal Łódź, Poland (2015); Pangaea: Art from Africa and Latin America, Saatchi Gallery, London (2014); The African Art Auction, Bonhams, London (2013); Recontres Picha, Bienalle de Lubumbashi (2013), The Biennale Arts Actuels, Saint-Denis, Réunion (2013); Pan-African Exhibition, Recontres de Bamako: Biennale of African Photography, Mali (2011); VI Chobi Mela Photo Festival, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2011); and Lagos Photo, Nigeria (2011). Macilau has been shortlisted for the 2019 Mast Award and the was a finalist of the Unicef Photo of the Year in 2009, the Greenpeace Photo Award 2016, and is in the permanent collection of the Pompidou Centre.