The National Coal Mining Museum for England will be hosting a symposium, entitled ‘The Narrator’s Gaze, fifty years of documentary photography’, on Friday 26 March 2010, from 10.30am until 4.30pm. The event is being held in association with the new special exhibition, ‘Northern Soul, John Bulmer’s images of life and Times in the 1960s’.

A pioneer of colour photography during the 1960s, Bulmer’s work was included in the very first colour supplement launched by The Sunday Times. Inspired by The Times Special Issue entitled ‘The North’, the exhibition includes work specially reprinted from this influential story.

The conference celebrates fifty years since Bulmer first began recording England’s industrial heritage and will be chaired by Colin Harding, the Curator of Photographic Technology at the National Media Museum. The keynote speakers, whose work spans each of the last five decades, include John Bulmer, Homer Sykes, Martin Jenkinson, Ian Beesley, and Moira Lovell.

The event is being held in association with the University of Bolton and Gallery Oldham. A second symposium linked to Gallery Oldham’s forthcoming photography exhibition, ‘The North South Divide’, will be taking place at the Gallery Oldham on 15 May 2010.

Tickets for ‘The Narrator’s Gaze, fifty years of documentary photography’ are on sale now at £15.00 each; concessions are available on request. The tickets price includes refreshments as well as a tour of the exhibition. A reduced rate is available for delegates attending both events. For more information or to book tickets, please contact the Museum’s Booking Officer on 01924 848 806 or visit the Museum’s website www.ncm.org.uk

The National Media Museum, Bradford, and Getty Conservation Institute, have announced a major international conference on recent advancements in scientific, art historical, and conservation research relating to the photographs which Joseph Nicéphore Niépce brought to England in 1827. The conference will take place in Bradford from 13-14 October 2010 and additionally will provide a unique opportunity to examine three Niépce plates out of their frames.

This two-day conference will present the results of new, unpublished research and scientific investigations, which have been undertaken during the NMeM and GCI Collaborative Research Project. In the Royal Photographic Society Collection at the National Media Museum are three plates by Niépce and the conference will address the research and conservation of these photographic treasures, and will discuss future conservation measures that would provide for their long-term protection and preservation. The reason why Niépce brought these plates to England, and their subsequent history, will also be outlined more fully than previously published.

A copy of the announcement brochure is available here: Niépce First Announcement.pdf

Aims and objectives

The conference will examine:

• Joseph Nicéphore Niépce and his work

• The first six photographs brought to England by Niépce in context

• Scientific investigation into the three Niépce photographs in the NMeM collection

• Dating and conservation of the original frames

• Conservation and preservation issues related to the Niépce plates

The speakers have yet to be formally announced.

Registration

Attendance to the conference is limited. All registrations will be handled on a first-come, first served basis.

Formal registration for the Niépce in England conference will take place in May 2010. To register initial interest, contact the NmeM at rsvp.nmem@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk. The museum will hold your details on file and email you registration information in May 2010.

The cost is:

• Regular registration (does not include dinner) £90

• Student registration at reduced rate £70

• Wednesday evening dinner £22

Information

For more information, contact the museum via email at rsvp.nmem@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk and it museum will respond to your query accordingly. If you would like to make contact by post, please send correspondence to:

Niépce Conference

c/o Cultural Events Organiser

National Media Museum

Pictureville, Bradford

West Yorkshire BD1 1NQ United Kingdom