Johannesburg joins thousands of photographers around the world in this annual 24HourProject, a global challenge for residents to document their cities over one full day. Jozi My Jozi is calling on our city’s residents to take part under the local banner 24 Hour Jozi, photographing the Johannesburg they know and sharing it with the world, uploading one image every hour over the 24-hour challenge period.

Founded in 2012, the 24HourProject has attracted more than 40 000 photographers from over 112 countries across 14 editions. Participants capture and share one photograph every hour from 00h00 to 23h59 local time, building a picture of how people across the world live on the same day. The 2026 edition supports Action Against Hunger, and by late September close to 2 500 photographers from 96 countries had registered.

Last year, Jozi My Jozi partnered with Joburg Photowalkers to field a team of 20 photographers who spent the full 24 hours on the move, from Soweto after dark and sunrise at the Orlando Towers through the Joburg Market, Kwa Mai Mai, Yeoville and Fordsburg, and ending at Constitution Hill.

This year the invitation goes out to the whole city. Professional photographers, students, street storytellers and smartphone explorers can all take part from their own street, neighbourhood or workplace. Participants can shoot for just one hour or for all 24.

The brief is simple: capture Jozi as it really lives and works. The first taxi out of the rank. The last shift clocking off. A market opening, a kitchen closing, a neighbour helping, music starting up on a corner.

“Jozi is too often described by people looking at it from the outside,” says Jozi My Jozi visitor and creative economy catalyst Dawn Robertson. “This project puts the camera in the hands of the people who live here and experience all aspects of our colourful, creative and sometimes crazy city on a daily basis. Every photograph posted on Saturday is an act of advocacy for this city. When thousands of Joburgers show the world the Jozi they know, that picture is far harder to ignore than any headline.”

Alongside the open call, curated crews will photograph set parts of the city in collaboration with Joburg Photowalkers, Film My Soul, the Market Photo Workshop and the Soweto Community Photowalk, with each group led by a local guide with deep roots in the area. From 09h00 to 13h00, Ishvara Dhyan takes a crew through the spice stores, mosques and markets of Fordsburg. Charlie Moyo of Local Places traces the gold-rush streets of Marshalltown, where Johannesburg began, while urban planner Tanya Zack, author of The Chaos Precinct: Johannesburg as a Port City, leads a walk through Jeppestown, colloquially known as the Ethiopian Quarter. 

From 13h00 to 18h00, City Skate Tours follow the skaters, murals and street fashion of Braamfontein, and Dlala Nje walks Hillbrow before ending at sunset at the top of Ponte Tower. Curiocity moves from Maboneng’s converted warehouses into the traditions of Kwa Mai Mai, and a curated group of documentary photographers will document Soweto for the full 24 hours starting at midnight on 2 October and ending at midnight on 3 October.

Registration is free and takes place on the international 24HourProject website, with donations to the global project welcome. On the day, participants post their selected photograph for each hour they take part. Posts should tag @24HourProject and @jozi_my_jozi, use the hashtag #24HourJozi, and include the time, the Johannesburg location, a photographer credit and a short caption explaining the moment.

Full details are available at jozimyjozi.com/experience-jozi/24hrs-jozi.

Through the uploaded photographs, Jozi My Jozi will follow the city’s story throughout the day and curate a selection of submitted work. Selected photographs will feature in a 24-image collection representing 24 hours in Johannesburg, a public online gallery and an exhibition at the Market Photo Workshop early in the new year. All published work will be credited to the photographers.

The campaign is an open, self-directed public call. It is not a guided tour or a supervised event, and participants choose their own routes and times. Jozi My Jozi encourages participants to group with people they know, particularly after dark, to seek consent where it is needed, and to protect the dignity of the people they photograph. Images that exploit people in vulnerable circumstances will not be featured.