Cape Town Photo Festival – Cape Town Photo Festival

In the dangerous suburb of Dobrinja, Meliha Varešanović walks proudly and defiantly to work during the siege of Sarajevo.Her message to the watching gunmen who surround her city is simple, “you will never defeat us.” Sarajevo 1995. Photograph by Tom Stoddart.

The inaugural edition of the CAPE TOWN PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL, with the theme of HERITAGE was held between 3 to 27 September 2025.

The second edition will take place from 2 to 26 September 2026 and this year the festival theme is TRUTH.

Photography has long been trusted as evidence, however today images are easily manipulated, re-contextualised, and weaponised.
With the theme of TRUTH the festival aims to examine photography’s role in shaping belief, memory, and power.
It is not a search for certainty,but more about how TRUTHS are produced, challenged, and resisted.

Countdown to the next Festival

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Festival Exhibitions (2025)

Attached to the Soil

Peter Glendinning (Michigan, USA). Portraits of young South Africans and their thoughts on the significance of Nelson Mandela’s metaphor made at his inauguration in 1995 where he likened South Africans to different types of trees which were all attached to the same soil

Simon's Town Museum

Frail and Flowering

Margaret Courtney-Clarke is an award-winning Namibian photographer and photojournalist. Her work explores the resilience of communities enduring the rapidly shifting landscapes of Namibia. Curated by Virginia MacKenny. Margaret Courtney-Clarke will be present Artvark Gallery. Kalk Bay EXTENDED TO MID OCTOBER

Artvark Gallery. Kalk Bay

Roger Ballen's Johannesburg

"As a photographer and artist, my work goes beyond conventional photography; it seeks to explore the depths of the human psyche" Central Library EXTENDED TO MID OCTOBER

Central Library

Future Heritage

Mohau Modisakeng (South Africa), Jun Ahn, (South Korea), Goo Gijeong (South Korea) & Boris Eldagsen (Germany) Curated by Suok-Won Yoon (South Korea). Aspire Art ©Boris Eldagsen

Aspire Art