Welcome...

Welcome to the British photographic history blog which was launched at the start of 2009. There are now over 4200 members, in addition to regular readers. These range from museum and gallery curators, photographic academics, students, collectors, dealers and representatives from the photographic press from around the world. The blog provides a forum for news of events and happenings within the British photographic history community. This can include lectures or meetings, exhibition news, jobs, reviews and general news affecting collections of photographic material or individuals within the field. While the focus is on Britain it may, on occasion, include material that is of wider interest from Europe, the United States, Africa and Asia.

A summary of the previous week's posts is usually emailed to signed up readers each Monday. 

Dr Michael Pritchard

PS. Thanks to George Eastman House (now George Eastman Museum) and History Today magazine blogs for recommending British Photographic History as one of their own favourite blogs. The Daily Telegraph made BPH one of its photography websites of the week

The School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, University of Leeds, and the National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, are offering a fully funded Collaborative Doctoral Award "Coaxing Nature to the Screen": Frank Percy Smith and the Transformations of British Natural History in the Pre-WWII Era of Technological Innovation and Mass Entertainment. 

In the 2020s, the world looks to David Attenborough to reveal the wonders of nature on the screen. But in the 1920s…

Read more…
Comments: 0

Photographs are mobile and malleable. They travel between people and places, change appearance and form, and traverse through different settings and environments. In image-led societies, photographs are often disrupted or removed from their original contexts to be repurposed by governments, institutions and researchers, as well as by artists, communities, campaigners, and many others. 

How, and to what ends, are these photographs being repurposed, and by whom? How does repurposing…

Read more…
Comments: 0

13451341094?profile=RESIZE_400x Originally seen in London at the King's Gallery, Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography moves to Edinburgh and opens at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on 28 February. The exhibition charts the evolution of royal portrait photography from the 1920s to the present day, revealing the stories behind the creation of some of the most iconic images of the Royal Family.

Bringing…

Read more…
Comments: 0

In this talk Professor Michelle Henning will reread and contextualise Walter Benjamin’s “Work of Art” essay (1935-36) and his claims about how film and photography allowed humanity to  “experience its own destruction as an aesthetic pleasure of the first order.”  Benjamin was reflecting on a specific imperial war — when the Italian fascists pioneered new, brutal tactics of chemical warfare (ecocide / domicide) in the 1935-36 invasion of Ethiopia. Through the connections between photography…

Read more…
Comments: 0

Autograph and Parse Journal present a new symposium examining ideas to rethink, reimagine and reshape the histories embedded in archival collections. We will consider how archival materials can be reactivated through diverse perspectives and disciplines, challenging dominant narratives. With a focus on decolonial and queer methodologies, this symposium will invite discussion on approaches that encourage a continual re-engagement with archives.

Encounters: Art, Power and…

Read more…
Comments: 1

13450820282?profile=RESIZE_400x This is an exciting opportunity to manage and enable the delivery of the Isca Photographic Project. Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, this innovative project will rescue, preserve, publicise and promote a unique and irreplaceable visual record of twentieth-century Exeter and its inhabitants. The Project Officer will co-ordinate and organise the activity detailed in the…

Read more…
Comments: 0

A unique and irreplaceable visual record of twentieth-century Exeter has been secured for the South West Heritage Trust thanks to a £178,579 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. A project is underway to conserve, catalogue and digitise the collection - and to make it available online and directly across the region.  

The Isca Photographic Collection Project will rescue and preserve 24,000 images depicting the city and its inhabitants during the first half of the twentieth…

Read more…
Comments: 0

Internship: David Bailey's studio archive


David Bailey's studio is looking for an intern to help with ongoing extensive archive projects. You need to be organised and have a real attention to detail. A good understanding of digital cameras for archiving is essential. Ideally you will have archive experience and/or training and be happy working within a small team.

No indication of whether it's paid or not, but one wouild expect it to be. Send your CV and a covering email to:…

Read more…
Comments: 0

Information and discussion on all aspects of British photographic history ranging from news, exhibitions and museum updates, to publications, and jobs. BPH is intended to be collaborative so do add your own posts. 

 

Locations of visitors to this page