Witness
To hold each story with dignity, care and the courage to listen.
Your story. Your power.
N.A.K.E.D& Unashamed
A living archive of women choosing to be seen, heard and remembered on their own terms.
25 Nov — 10 Dec 2026
Cape Town, South Africa
The Manifesto
Created during South Africa’s 16 Days of Activism, this campaign makes space for women’s truths without reducing them to what they have survived.
We are not one story. We are the truth, the tenderness, the fury and the future.
Reclaim
To return authorship to the women whose lives are too often narrated by others.
Transform
To move from awareness into action, solidarity and lasting social impact.
The Experience
Enter a gallery of living testimony.
Portraiture, voice and intimate encounter converge in an exhibition designed not for spectacle, but for witness.
01Immersive Exhibition
02Curated Intimate Sittings
03Guided Gallery Walkthrough
Season One
10 Women.
10 Stories.
Story titles and excerpts are campaign previews.
The Becoming
On finding language for the woman she had always been.
The Return
On coming home to a body that carried her through.
The Reckoning
On turning silence into an instrument of change.
The Softness
On tenderness as a radical form of power.
The Inheritance
On what we carry, what we release, and what remains.
The Voice
On speaking without asking permission to be heard.
The Witness
On being seen fully, without apology or disguise.
The Reclamation
On taking back the narrative, one truth at a time.
The Light
On choosing hope when the world offered something less.
The Legacy
On the story she wants the next woman to inherit.
Beyond the exhibition
The ecosystem of a movement.
01
The Book
Volume One brings the portraits and unfiltered reflections together in an enduring, tactile archive.
02
The Artwork
Signed, limited-edition portrait prints honour each woman as both subject and author of her image.
03
Merchandise
Purposeful pieces carry the message beyond the gallery and help sustain the campaign’s work.
04
N.A.K.E.D Circles
An ongoing community for conversation, witness, support and the shared work of becoming.
Apostle Dr. Shanon Adams
The Founder
Apostle Dr. Shanon Adams
Influential Woman of the Year 2024
Top 100 Influential Personalities in Africa 2025
Nominated · WorkingMomma Power List Award 2026
Nominated · Cape Flats Literature Award 2026
Author of Fempower
Founder of Miss Grace South Africa
Apostle Dr. Shanon Adams is the Founder of N.A.K.E.D. & Unashamed, an annual cultural platform that brings together portraiture, testimony, performance and publication to tell the stories of South African women — with dignity, beauty and artistic integrity.
A minister and doctor of theology, Dr. Adams has spent close to two decades building ministries, missions and community programmes across South Africa and abroad, with a consistent focus on service, leadership and restoration. A former Mrs South Africa semi-finalist, she went on to found Miss Grace South Africa, a national platform created to give young women the opportunity to lead, grow and give back to their communities.
Her work in women’s advocacy — particularly the emancipation of women within religious sectors — has earned her recognition as Influential Woman of the Year 2024 and a place among the Top 100 Influential Personalities in Africa 2025. She is the author of Fempower, and continues to lead civic and community development work aimed at raising voices willing to challenge the status quo and contribute to meaningful change within their communities and nation. Dr. Adams has been nominated for the WorkingMomma Power List Award 2026 and the Cape Flats Literature Award 2026.
N.A.K.E.D. & Unashamed grew out of this same conviction: that every woman’s story deserves to be told with dignity, and that art can hold what statistics never can. Dr. Adams continues to lead the platform’s vision while ensuring the project remains, first and foremost, about the women whose stories it carries.
Opening night · Cape Town
Witness the first chapter.
Date25 November 2026
Time18:00
VenueUltraviolet Contemporary Photographic Art Gallery
The Book Launch opens the campaign on 25 November — the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the official start of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. The Artwork Reveal closes the 16 Days on 10 December — International Human Rights Day. Both events are hosted at Ultraviolet Contemporary Photographic Art Gallery, Cape Town. Registration for the launch is handled through our official RSVP form. Places are limited.
Reserve your placePartner with purpose
Stand beside the stories that move us forward.
We welcome aligned sponsors, cultural institutions, creative collaborators and GBV-focused organisations committed to ethical storytelling and durable impact.
Dignity first
Shared accountability
Lasting impact
N.A.K.E.D & Unashamed Founding Partners
Ultraviolet Contemporary Photographic Art Gallery
Rape Crisis Cape Town Trust
Hero Creative Artist Management
Shofar Publications
N.A.K.E.D Dialogue Partners
The Bridge SA
Cape Flats Stories
Begin a conversation