About

African Cities Archive was born from a simple observation: African cities are rarely shown as they are truly lived by their residents day to day. Too often reduced to clichés, they deserve a faithful visual archive, built with and by the people who inhabit them.

The project was founded by Lisa Nyamadzawo, an urban planner and development specialist, drawing on years of professional work across African cities. It was quickly enriched by contributions from local photographers, professional and amateur alike, across the continent.

Our mission

To build, over time, the largest open archive of documentary photography of African cities: their markets, transport, housing, public spaces, street art and everyday life — told through images, with systematic credit to every contributor.

How to contribute

Anyone can submit a photograph via the Contribute. page. Every submission is reviewed by the editorial team before publication: metadata (city, country, category, caption) is verified, and automated content screening is applied before the image goes live. Contributors remain credited on every image, regardless of the licence chosen.