CAPE TOWN – The inaugural Cape Town Photography Festival, which will be held in the Mother City from Wednesday 3 to Saturday 27 September, explores the multifaceted theme of heritage through photography, showcasing local, national and international visual narratives.
Inspired by Heritage Month, the festival promises to be a vibrant new addition to the city’s cultural calendar. “Heritage is a powerful thread connecting past, present and future,” explains festival director Heidi Erdmann.
“It fosters belonging, grounds us in time and place, and shapes our identity. Photography, as visual memory, is the perfect medium to capture and share these stories.”
CURATORIAL VISION
The programme ranges from landmark exhibitions and AI-driven projects to rediscovered archives, student showcases and children’s initiatives. Among the festival highlights are solo exhibitions by Naoya Yoshikawa and Suok-Won Yoon, the festival’s co-curators. The solo exhibitions features their own work.
Yoon also curated the “Future Heritage” exhibition, inviting Boris Eldagsen (Berlin), a global leader in the use of AI in photography, to participate. The exhibition also features work by Mohau Modisakeng (South Africa), Ahn Jun (South Korea) and Goo Gijeong (South Korea), with a not-to-be-missed discussion forming part of the festival programme.
Yoshikawa curated a student photography exhibition from Japan, which will be presented in dialogue with work by students from Stellenbosch University and Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
- Karen Pang and Meha Desai of Mauritius curated an exhibition that powerfully reflects the island’s complex heritage.
- Critical conversations on Cape Town’s past and memory will be sparked by District Six: People Lived Here by Jansje Wissema at the Cape Institute for Architecture in Hout Street. A few prints from the Van Kalker Photo Studio Collection (1939-1978) will be included in this exhibition.
- The historically important exhibition on loan from the remarkable Kilbourn Collection will be on view at the Sanlam Art Gallery.
- Music writer Carsten Rasch curated an exciting music photography exhibition with a vibrant programme of events.
- A conversation with Banthatile Rwasoka led to a collaboration with Senzeni, while a separate exchange about Margaret Courtney-Clarke from Namibia quickly evolved into a confirmed project.
- The children’s exhibition, Through Kids’ Eyes, brings together both rural and urban perspectives.
EDUCATIONAL IMPACT
The festival will present a dynamic programme of exhibitions, talks and workshops, designed to engage diverse audiences and foster meaningful connections, especially with younger generations through educational workshops.
Erdmann adds that photography has undergone a significant transformation since the last festival in 2014. “The number and diversity of practitioners have grown, and audiences are more curious and receptive to the medium,” she says.
“Cape Town itself has matured into a vibrant, cosmopolitan centre of art and culture. This growth, in both the city and the medium, makes this the perfect time to relaunch the festival.”
The festival will capture the full spectrum of the photographic ecosystem, spotlighting not only image makers but also the thinkers, facilitators and institutions shaping the field.
“We live in a world saturated with images, where everyone is a photographer. In a festival context, photography reclaims its power as a storytelling medium,” Erdmann adds.
“Our programme shows just how elastic the medium is – from hard-hitting documentary and narrative-rich constructed images to work shaped by AI. It’s a visual language that continues to adapt to the way we live now. This festival is about widening the lens. Photography can be poetic, political and personal, sometimes all at once. From hard-hitting documentary to playful AI experiments we want to create a space where multiple voices and visions can meet and be seen.”
The Cape Town Photography Festival is set to draw audiences from across South Africa and the globe, further cementing the city’s reputation as a place where art, heritage and innovation converge.
- For the full programme and more information, visit capetownphotofest.co.za.
