Held Captive Photography Exhibition Public Tours

Held Captive

Photography Exhibition | 2–22 August 2025

Inside Out Centre for the Arts, Johannesburg

Held Captive is a powerful photographic exhibition exposing the harsh realities of South Africa’s commercial captive predator industry. Through the lenses of five renowned photographers and conservationists, the exhibition documents the exploitation of apex predators—particularly lions—bred in captivity for tourism, hunting, and profit.

At a time when South Africa faces critical decisions about the future of its wildlife, Held Captive calls for urgent dialogue and policy change. The exhibition supports the growing call to Minister Dr Dion George (Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment) to implement a moratorium on captive breeding and to phase out the commercial predator industry entirely.

This exhibition offers a rare opportunity to see behind the curtain of an industry hidden from public view, and to engage directly with the ethical, environmental, and emotional costs of commodifying wildlife.