Cape Town Photo Festival 2026 Open Call — TRUTH

The 2026 Cape Town Photo Festival is the inaugural edition of a new photography festival in Cape Town, South Africa. The festival runs September 2–26, 2026.

The 2026 theme is TRUTH. The brief structures the theme through three lenses: personal truth (individual experience and memory), social truth (collective and contested narratives), and technical truth (photography's claim to evidence in an era of synthetic imagery). Selection criteria are conceptual strength, relevance to the theme, and technical and visual quality.

Two submission categories. Solo Exhibition: 6–8 images, with a 300-word statement and 150-word bio. Group Exhibition: up to 4 images, with a 150-word bio and an optional 150-word statement.

A curatorial panel selects the work. Selected artists exhibit at the festival in Cape Town and may be invited to participate in the festival's photography auction, talks, and workshops. Eligibility is open to local and international photographers of all career levels; students are explicitly encouraged.

Submission is through the festival website. Fee is R250 (R100 for students). The 2026 deadline was April 28; notification by May 25, 2026.