The University of Cape Town Photographs and Images Collection
University of Cape Town
The photographic archive in Special Collections has material that spans a period from the inception of photography to the present day, from fragile prints to digital format. Fox Talbot’s Pencil of Nature is a rare body of work that found its way to the African continent. Many of the early photographs are of Cape Town and its surrounds, reflecting its architecture, environment, and the city’s early development. There is also a considerable archive reflecting UCT’s memory and history. The archive houses social history and anthropology collections of Bleek and Lloyd, Hunter-Wilson and Martin West. New material from the 1950s to contemporary times includes the archives of Jürgen Schadeberg and Ernest Cole. Other seminal collections complement the early historic images: The Cordoned Heart, an investigation into poverty and development; Beyond the Barricades, an anthology documenting resistance to apartheid; the Staffrider exhibitions; as well as photographers such as Guy Tillim, Greg Marinovich, Cedric Nunn, George Hallett, Paul Grendon, Chris Ledochowski, Graeme Williams, and others. We are also engaged in projects that aim to keep the archive alive and in conversation with the South African heritage and memory: Underexposed is a collection of highly significant but off-the-radar photographers; The Other Camera is an anthology of vernacular photography; while the Ernest Cole Award supports contemporary South African photography.
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South Africa
Rivonia trialist and African National Congress (ANC) leader, Govan Mbeki, who spent 23 years in jail on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela, greets supporters and well-wishers on his first full …
Women holding a banner and mourning the death of late Mozambican president, Samora Machel.
The First Catholic Apostolic Church in Zion of SA (4). Bishop S Malinga at Sunday morning service in classroom in Mofolo Village.
Violet Hashe, fiery African trade-union leader, called on the people at Freedom Square in Fordsburg to defy the 'unjust laws' passed by the Apartheid government. Johannesburg, 6 April, 1952.
A zulu woman wearing traditional clothing stands next to a man wearing a mix of traditional and modern clothing, as they pose on set for a studio portrait.
For the first time in Angola's history, a multi-party election was held in September, 1992 in an attempt to bring the 17 year Civil War to an end. The results …
AICA conference, Soweto.
First Apostolic Church of Christ in Zion of SA (44). Soweto wedding.
Soweto scene. Backyard in Central Western Jabavu.
