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
UCT: University of Cape Town · 1 October 1986
Mourners at the funeral of late Mozambican president, Samora Machel.
UCT: University of Cape Town · 1 October 1986
A mother and child search for their belongings after their house was burnt down by 'witdoeke' (vigilantes)
UCT: University of Cape Town · 1 October 1986
Launch of the South African Domestic Workers' Union (SADWU).
UCT: University of Cape Town · 1 October 1986
A resident salvages material from an informal settlement raided by 'witdoeke' (vigilantes).
UCT: University of Cape Town · 1 October 1986
The wife of the king of Ondonga, Immanuel Kauluma Elifas of Ondonga, shows the remains of her pantry after a firefight between South African Defence Force (SADF) soldiers and People's …
UCT: University of Cape Town · 1 October 1986
Mourners queue at Maputo city hall to pay their last respects to late Mozambican president, Samora Machel.
UCT: University of Cape Town · 1 October 1986
A mother and child search for their belongings after their house was burnt down by 'witdoeke' (vigilantes).
UCT: University of Cape Town · 1 October 1986
Mourners leave the Maputo city hall where the body of late Mozambican president, Samora Machel, is lying in state.
UCT: University of Cape Town · 1 October 1986
Newly elected Mozambican president, Joaquim Chissano, greets jubilant FRELIMO government supporters after his presidential inauguration.
UCT: University of Cape Town · 1 October 1987
A woman earns R3.50 a day building toilets in the rural settlement of Botshabelo.