Cape Town Photo Journal: Jodi Windvogel

A portrait of Cape Town by Jodi Windvogel

For the fifth stop on AFMAC's journey to creative hubs in cities spanning from Lagos to Nairobi, we partnered with photographer Jodi Windvogel to capture the energy of Cape Town.

Jodi Windvogel is a South African documentary photographer and filmmaker working across Southern Africa, the African continent, and beyond. Her work grows out of long-term engagement with people and places, shaped by time spent listening, researching, and returning. She is interested in how everyday lives are entangled with larger histories of land, labour, gender, environmental harm, and memory — and how those histories continue to show up in the present.

Much of Windvogel’s practice takes place in communities living with the ongoing effects of colonialism and apartheid. She works slowly and carefully, often over years, building relationships and allowing stories to unfold on their own terms. Her photographs resist simple narratives, focusing instead on complexity, contradiction, and the quiet details that carry meaning.

Her practice moves between personal, self-initiated projects and commissioned work with NGOs and foundations working in social justice, land rights, environmental protection, and community-based initiatives across the continent. These collaborations support her independent work while enabling her to document projects aligned with her ethics as a South African photographer.