From the bustling, sun-drenched markets of Dakar and Lagos to the animated sidewalks of Abidjan and the quiet residential corners of the Beherawi neighborhood in Addis Ababa, a sweeping new publication offers an unprecedented visual journey through contemporary African urban centers. Published this month by Thames & Hudson, Street Photography Africa serves as a vast, ambitious portrait of life on the continent, bringing together hundreds of compelling images captured by 33 distinct photographers.
Curated by Nadine Barth and Azu Nwagbogu, the nearly 300-page survey moves fluidly from country to country, documenting a rich tapestry of human experiences. The photographers featured in the collection turn their lenses directly toward public spaces, recording spontaneous cultural moments, impromptu performances by local musicians and dancers, everyday contemporary fashions, and the rhythmic, ordinary routines that define modern city life. While the project is remarkably diverse in its geographic scope, aesthetic locations, and artistic styles, it remains firmly anchored by a single, unifying conceptual premise: that the urban street functions as a dynamic, ever-changing stage.
The release of Street Photography Africa arrives at a time of growing global interest in contemporary African photography, highlighting the ways local artists document their shifting environments with intimacy and nuance. The book captures the striking multiplicity of urban existence across different regions, illustrating how culture, commerce, and community intersect on the pavement.
Among the diverse perspectives included in the volume is work by Ethiopian photographer Tsion Haileselassie, whose 2021 image Two in One, captured in the Beherawi district of Addis Ababa, presents a striking composition of two young individuals standing before a stark gray garage door framed by vibrant lime-green walls. The interplay of architectural texture and youthful presence highlights the quiet, everyday poetry found within neighborhood streets.
In West Africa, the documentation of urban dynamism takes on different visual rhythms. In Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, photographer Sarah Waiswa captures the quiet resilience and striking geometry of daily labor in a 2024 untitled image depicting a woman wearing a dark headscarf while expertly balancing patterned cushions on her head and tucking another firmly under her arm. The photograph underscores the physical grace and enduring labor that animate West African commercial hubs.
The theme of youth culture and alternative self-expression features prominently in the book as well. In Accra, Ghana, photographer Jude Lartey documents the burgeoning local creative scene in his 2024 portrait titled Daniel. The black-and-white image features a subject wearing white-rimmed sunglasses and a mesh tank top, casually carrying a skateboard across their shoulders—a testament to the cross-cultural movements and modern subcultures taking root in coastal West African cities.
Meanwhile, the relentless pace of metropolitan transit and commerce is vividly portrayed in Nigeria. In a 2024 photograph by Kothegrapher titled We Dey Road Dey Come, captured in the Wuse district of Abuja, a man balancing a precarious tower of numerous hats on his head navigates a busy thoroughfare amidst creeping vehicular traffic. This blend of individual ingenuity and urban chaos captures the sensory overload of one of the continent’s major economic powerhouses.
The collection also explores themes of collective memory, style, and familial bonds. In Lomé, Togo, photographer Delali Ayivi’s 2021 image Looking Beyond, drawn from the series Racines de l’Imaginaire, presents a tender portrait of two teenage girls in matching patterned dresses, with one gently shielding her eyes from the bright tropical sun. The image evokes a timeless sense of youth and shared identity against the backdrop of coastal Togo.
Other contributions ground the survey in the distinct cultural ecosystems of the region. Music and performance art intersect with everyday surroundings in a 2023 photograph by Nuits Balnéaires, which captures the music artist Famas standing amidst livestock in Treichville, Côte d’Ivoire, as part of the Poplin Project. In Dakar, Senegal, Alexandre Gandaho’s 2023 photograph Yellow Blue Car Rapide focuses on the intricate details of urban transit, capturing a pair of hands adorned with elaborate gold rings resting against the interior of one of the city’s iconic, brightly painted minibuses.
The publication further delves into the sartorial and domestic realities of urban centers through works like Stephen Tayo’s 2018 portrait Michael, shot in Lagos, Nigeria. The image features a shirtless man seated on a wooden stool surrounded by a dense environment of folded garments and hanging textiles, offering a glimpse into the vibrant informal economies and tailoring traditions that sustain local communities.
Additional layers of historical reflection and contemporary observation emerge in images such as Before the World Changes Us, captured in Lagos in 2025 by an anonymous or unavailable photographer, which presents a black-and-white portrait of a formally dressed couple perched sideways on a bicycle. This sense of archival grace is complemented by Naëtt Mbaye’s 2024 series Marché 100 Francs in Dakar, which frames a woman in a pristine white dress standing beneath a colorful canopy of market tarps, blending commercial hustle with striking visual elegance.
Through these diverse vignettes, Street Photography Africa avoids a monolithic depiction of the continent, instead offering a multifaceted mosaic driven by the photographers who know these streets best. By capturing the extraordinary within the ordinary, the book establishes the African street not merely as a corridor for transit, but as a vibrant theater of life, identity, and resilience.
Street Photography Africa, published by Thames & Hudson, is available now through booksellers and online platforms including Bookshop.
