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Saturday, 22 August 2026

Public grounds

Three days in Pretoria - a monument, a square and a park - and the people who turn up to use them.

Wide view of the Pretoria city centre skyline from a wooded ridge, with the Union Buildings on the hillside to the right and cumulus cloud above.
01 / 10 · Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria, 24 September 2025. The city centre sits low in the bowl with the Union Buildings on the far ridge, seen from the monument on Heritage Day.Alet Pretorius
A carved stone relief of ox wagons on the Voortrekker Monument's outer wall, with the Pretoria skyline and hills visible behind it.
02 / 10 · Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria, 24 September 2025. The stone wagons of the monument's perimeter laager stand between the viewer and the CBD, with the Union Buildings on the ridge beyond.Alet Pretorius
Low-angle view of folk dancers in long floral skirts and boots turning on tarmac, with a seated crowd and festival tents behind.
03 / 10 · Kruger 200 concert, Heritage Day, Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria, 24 September 2025. Shot from the tar, the dance comes down to hems, boots and the seated crowd behind them.Alet Pretorius
A skater in a red Converse shirt in mid-air above his board, pigeons scattering around him, with a palisade fence and a sandstone government building behind.
04 / 10 · Side Quest Skate & Chill, Church Square, Pretoria, 8 November 2025. A skater lifts off the paving in front of the Palace of Justice and the flock goes up with him. The sessions are run by LES Skate Pretoria in the build-up to the Les Sk8 market at Sunnyside Sports Grounds, and as part of a campaign for a public skatepark in the capital.Alet Pretorius
Black and white photograph of three people on a city square lawn surrounded by hundreds of pigeons, several birds in flight around their outstretched hands.
05 / 10 · Church Square, Pretoria, 8 November 2025. Between skate runs the square belongs to the pigeons, and to whoever will stand still long enough to hold one.Alet Pretorius
A young brass player with a tuba in the foreground, and behind him people in clown wigs holding a hand-painted banner reading "Together 4 Children's Rights" under a large tree.
06 / 10 · Feast of the Clowns, Burgers Park, Sunnyside, Pretoria, 16 October 2021. A Field Band Foundation player fills the left of the frame while the banner and the painted placards go up under the tree behind him.Alet Pretorius
A performer in a purple and orange jester costume rides a unicycle down the middle of a city street, with a costumed parade and banners following behind.
07 / 10 · Feast of the Clowns, Pretoria, 16 October 2021. A jester rides the centre line ahead of the drums, the banners and the wigs, on a march that is equal parts carnival and protest.Alet Pretorius
A skater in a red Converse shirt in mid-air above his board, pigeons scattering around him, with a palisade fence and a sandstone government building behind.
08 / 10 · Feast of the Clowns, Burgers Park, Sunnyside, Pretoria, 16 October 2021. A boy holds his placard above his head on the roots of the park's fig, at the front of the children's rights march.Alet Pretorius
A young man plays a large brass tuba while marching in a city street, another player beside him, with cars, a traffic officer and high-rise buildings around them.
09 / 10 · Feast of the Clowns, Pretoria, 16 October 2021. A Field Band Foundation player carries his tuba through the traffic while a metro officer holds the crossing.Alet Pretorius
Close-up of a young man holding out a diamante chain with a broken-heart clasp and a pendant reading "NO LOVE".
10 / 10 · A young man lifts his chain away from his chest for the camera, the pendant reading "no love", his face cropped above the mouth. Pretoria, South Africa.Alet Pretorius