One of Cape Town’s busiest pedestrian routes turns into an open-air gallery. Every weekday, approximately 30,000 pedestrians walk several surveyed routes in Cape Town, with 8,600 of those on Alpha Street between Cape Town Station and the V&A Waterfront – one of the city’s busiest routes. From this week, that daily journey has become something a little different.

One of Cape Town’s busiest pedestrian routes turns into an open-air gallery

The Mission for Inner City Cape Town has unveiled Alpha Street Gallery, a new outdoor photography exhibition that transforms the corner of Alpha Street and Lower Loop Street into a free, open-air gallery celebrating African stories, creativity and urban life. Presented in partnership with ICLEI Africa, through its RISE Africa platform and the EU-funded AfriFOODlinks project, alongside SJ Artists and Orms, the exhibition brings together two powerful collections – Unsung Heroes and City in Motion – creating an accessible cultural experience in the heart of Cape Town’s CBD.

The exhibition is about far more than photography

This exhibition is about far more than photography. It forms part of the Mission’s growing Inner City Art Routes initiative, which is using public art to reimagine the city’s pedestrian experience, encouraging people to walk more, spend longer in the city, and rediscover Cape Town through creativity. This collaboration, in particular, builds on a shared interest in visual storytelling and exploring how public space can shape how people experience their cities across the continent.

“Cities are remembered because of how they make people feel,” says Brad Armitage, co-founder of Mission for Inner City Cape Town. “Public spaces should do more than simply move people from one place to another. They should spark curiosity, encourage people to stop, connect and experience the city differently. Alpha Street Gallery is another example of how creative placemaking can transform an ordinary route into somewhere people genuinely want to spend time.”

The exhibition brings together two collections

The exhibition brings together two collections, curated by Ruby Schalit from ICLEI Africa and Shani Judes from SJ Artists, that explore resilience, creativity and everyday life across African cities. Developed through AfriFOODlinks’ #AfricanCITYFOODMonth photography competition, Unsung Heroes features winning images selected from more than 180 submissions by photographers across Africa. The collection celebrates the often-unseen individuals who keep urban food systems alive – from informal traders and community growers to researchers, educators and custodians of traditional food knowledge.

Alongside it, City in Motion is a retrospective of six years of RISE Africa’s annual photography competitions from 2021 to 2025. The collection draws on submissions from across the continent responding to key themes including creativity, agency, urgency, everyday possibilities and African urban futures. It offers diverse perspectives on how people experience, shape and reimagine cities, capturing the movement, energy and complexity of African urban life.

Photography is a valuable way of bringing more stories from African cities into view.

Ruby Schalit of ICLEI Africa says photography is a valuable way of bringing more stories from African cities into view. “Through these competitions, people across the continent show us their cities through their own eyes, and the people, places and everyday experiences that shape them. Bringing these images together helps us see African urban life in all its diversity, and displaying them in the heart of Cape Town means those stories can now become part of thousands of people’s everyday journey through the city.” The exhibition also builds on the longstanding partnership between SJ Artists and Orms, whose outdoor photography exhibitions along the Sea Point Promenade have demonstrated the value of making art accessible beyond traditional gallery spaces.

Public art has the power to strengthen the relationship between people and place

Shani Judes, founder of SJ Artists, says public art has the power to strengthen the relationship between people and place. “Public art helps people see themselves reflected in the places they move through every day. When our cities celebrate local stories and lived experiences, public spaces become places of pride, connection and belonging.” For the Mission, Alpha Street Gallery is another example of how relatively simple interventions can make a meaningful difference to the way people experience Cape Town’s public spaces. Armitage says the organisation believes every improvement – whether it’s greening, better public spaces, safer streets or public art – contributes to building a city that people want to explore rather than simply pass through.

“Our vision has always been to create an Inner City that feels vibrant, welcoming and alive every day of the week. Every artwork, every activation and every investment in the public realm gives people another reason to walk, explore and reconnect with Cape Town. That’s how we build a city that is safer, more inclusive and more loved by the people who use it.”

The exhibition is free to visit and forms part of the Mission for Inner City Cape Town’s ongoing work to activate public spaces through placemaking, culture and collaboration. Located along the corner of Alpha Street and Lower Loop Street, the exhibition invites commuters, residents and visitors alike to experience African photography in an unexpected setting, proving that some of the city’s most inspiring galleries don’t have walls at all.