A Thousand Windows
A Thousand Windows
Thirty photographs of Intaka Island, now on show in Ratanga Park, Century City
Stand at the edge of a seasonal pan on Intaka Island early enough, and the day arrives in stages. The light finds the reeds first. A cormorant dries its wings on a post, a heron holds its position in the shallows, and somewhere beyond the water the city begins its commute. It is easy to forget that all of this takes place at the heart of one of the busiest precincts in Cape Town. It is harder to forget once you have seen it through someone else’s lens.
That is the idea behind A Thousand Windows, an open-air exhibition of thirty photographs that has opened in Ratanga Park.
Intaka Island turns 30 this year. The reserve covers 16 hectares, half seasonal pans and half constructed wetland, threaded with 8.5 kilometres of canals. Birds have been counted there since 1997, and the story of how it has been looked after is told in its commemorative book that marks the anniversary. For the photographs, a competition was held, asking the public to send in their own: any subject, any year, taken by anyone who had ever stood on the island with a camera.
Intaka Island turns 30 this year. The reserve covers 16 hectares, half seasonal pans and half constructed wetland, threaded with 8.5 kilometres of canals. Birds have been counted there since 1997, and the story of how it has been looked after is told in its commemorative book that marks the anniversary. For the photographs, a competition was held, asking the public to send in their own: any subject, any year, taken by anyone who had ever stood on the island with a camera.
About 1,640 photographs arrived, which were narrowed to a hundred, then to the thirty now on display, and the range is what stays with you. There is a caracal moving through the reeds, a grey heron and a cormorant disputing the same patch of water, and a giant kingfisher poised just before the dive. The entries came from experienced wildlife photographers and from people who had simply brought a camera on a walk, and the exhibition makes no distinction between the two. What the thirty share is attention. Each was made by someone who stopped, looked and waited for the moment to arrive.
“The top 30 photographs are already displayed in the Intaka Island Eco-Centre, but as the images are so spectacular, we felt that a wider audience should enjoy them too.” says Natalie du Preez, Head of Brand & Marketing at Century City Property Owners’ Association, who manages Intaka Island and Century City Arts Foundation. “Across the world, outdoor photographic exhibitions take place in public parks, allowing these two worlds to enhance one another: nature and the outdoors with art. The beautiful marriage between these nature photographs taken on Intaka Island and displayed at the opposite end of the Century City neighbourhood in Ratanga Park, is the perfect opportunity to increase awareness for our nature reserve and the arts.”
The title, A Thousand Windows, came from that waiting. A photograph of a place is never the place itself. It is one person’s view through one opening, at one hour on one day, and a reserve like Intaka is made of thousands of those views, multiplied by every visitor and every season. Seen together, the thirty make a portrait that no single photographer could have taken, of a place that belongs to the people who watch over it as much as to the birds and animals that live there.
The setting matters as much as the pictures. Ratanga Park and Intaka Island are the two largest green spaces in Century City, one on each side of the precinct, and many people who love one, have never explored the other.
All the photographs were taken at Intaka and now stand in Ratanga Park, so that the exhibition becomes a connecting thread. Walk the boards, and you walk toward the island they came from.
Each photograph details the name of the photographer, as well as the specie in focus. It’s also a great opportunity to learn about our natural environment: what does a Malachite Kingfisher look like from up close, and how does it differ from a Giant Kingfisher.
The exhibition is presented by Intaka Island, Century City and the Century City Arts Foundation. It runs from 31 October 2026 until the end of January 2027.
Take a long lap, bring visiting family, and choose a favourite. Next step is to follow the photograph back to where it was taken: Intaka Island. Go see and experience its natural beauty first-hand.
Intaka Island 30-Year Photography Competition Top 30 Finalists
Ann Gadd | Grey heron (Ardea cinerea), White-breasted cormoranTs (Phalacrocorax lucidus) – Joint First Prize Winner
Braeme Holland | Giant Kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima) – Joint First Prize Winner
Geo Cloete | Caracal (Caracal caracal) – Joint First Prize Winner
Braeme Holland | Malachite Kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus)
Braeme Holland | Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)
Caitlyn Carikas | Cape River Crab (Potamonautes perlatus)
Carla Pimenta | Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)
Frances du Toit | Black-Shouldered Kite (Elanus axillaris)
Shanely Alexander
