Johannesburg is a city that is constantly being photographed. But who gets to tell its story?
On Saturday, 3 October 2026, Joburgers will have the opportunity to answer that question for themselves as 24 Hour Jozi invites photographers, creatives, students and smartphone storytellers to document the city over a full 24 hours, from midnight to midnight.
For Johannesburg, the project feels particularly fitting. This is a city that changes character by the hour. The streets at 3AM tell a different story to those at 8AM. A taxi rank, market, nightclub, office, street corner or neighbourhood can all reveal something different depending on when you encounter it. 24 Hour Jozi, led by Jozi My Jozi, is an invitation to capture those shifts from the perspective of the people who actually experience them.
Jozi My Jozi x Joburg Photowalkers
Last year, Jozi My Jozi partnered with Joburg Photowalkers to put a team of 20 photographers on the streets for the full 24 hours. Their route moved through Soweto after dark, Sunrise at the Orlando Towers, Joburg Market, Kwa Mai Mai, Yeoville, Fordsburg and Constitution Hill.
This year, the lens gets wider. You don’t need to be a professional photographer to participate. You can document your own neighbourhood, your commute, your workplace, your local corner shop, the people you encounter or simply a moment that feels distinctly Joburg. The brief is intentionally open: show us Johannesburg as you see it.
These are the details that build a city’s identity.
A City Told From The Inside
For us at Between 10and5, this is where the project becomes particularly interesting. Johannesburg has never been short of stories, but the way those stories are framed can shape how the city is understood. 24 Hour Jozi creates a collective portrait built from the inside out, thousands of individual observations coming together to create a picture of the city that no single photographer could capture alone.
Alongside the open call, curated crews will move through different parts of Johannesburg with local guides and photographers, exploring Fordsburg, Marshalltown, Jeppestown, Braamfontein, Hillbrow, Maboneng, Kwa Mai Mai and Soweto. Each area brings its own history, rhythm, people and visual language. Together, these perspectives speak to the complexity of Johannesburg: a city that is constantly moving, evolving and reinventing itself.
As Jozi My Jozi visitor and creative economy catalyst Dawn Robertson puts it, Johannesburg is often described by people looking at it from the outside. This project puts the camera back into the hands of the people who live here.
Your Jozi. Your perspective.
Participation is free and open to anyone with a camera or smartphone. You can photograph for a single hour or attempt the full 24. Participants are encouraged to post their selected photograph for each hour they take part, tagging @24HourProject and @jozi_my_jozi, and using #24HourJozi, alongside the time, location, photographer credit and a short caption.
The photographs will become part of a growing visual record of Johannesburg, with Jozi My Jozi set to curate selected submissions into a 24-image collection, online gallery and exhibition at Market Photo Workshop in the new year.
Full details are available at jozimyjozi.com/experience-jozi/24hrs-jozi.
