At a ceremony on 3 November Oscar Gustave Rejlander's previously unmarked grave in Kensal Green cemetery had a new stone placed upon it just in time for the 200th anniversary of his birth in 2013. 

The project has been fully funded from Woverhampton Photographic Society funds and from personal donations from members of WPS Historical Group.The project has taken two years to come to fruition, and the WPS is very grateful for the help and support it has  received from staff at Kensal Green, and especially Joe Hughes from the Friends of Kensal Green. The memorial plaque was hand-carved and gilded by the sculptor David Kelly.

Details of the event were noted here: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rejlander-to-be-honoured

Photos courtesy of Dr Donald Stewart FRPS

International submissions are invited to be included in a  forthcoming book, to be published by MuseumsEtc in 2013. The book will bring together the varied ways in which reflexivity manifests itself within photography and the photograph. In this instance we are taking a broad approach to the term (as evidenced in the suggestions below), where “reflexivity” is used to describe:

The Photographic History Research Centre (PHRC) at De Montfort University is seeking a dynamic and committed photographic historian specialising in twentieth century photographic history to join their growing team of academic researchers and post graduate students. Candidates' research field will ideally relate to PHRC''s core research strands in global social and cultural practices of photography, photography and science, and the industrial and business history of photography. We welcome applications from candidates with backgrounds in cultural history, visual culture, art history, anthropology, history of science, museum studies or any other relevant field. The PHRC is a highly interdisciplinary research centre, with excellent links to national and international universities and cultural industry partners. A successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively as well as individually, promoting the field of photographic history.

The post-holder will contribute to the research culture of the PHRC and teaching of the MA in Photographic History and Practice. The post holder will also be expected to supervise PhD students in photographic history, engage with undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within the university, and be able to develop research projects, and develop and undertake viable grant funding applications.

De Montfort University, rated as one of the top ten creative universities in the UK, has a growing reputation as a world leader in photographic history. It works with a wide network of major museums, archives and libraries internationally. Its excellent research library in photography and photographic history supports both research and teaching and it hosts a growing number of digital resources for photographic history.

FACULTY OF ART, DESIGN AND HUMANITIES
Senior Research Fellow/Senior Lecturer Photographic History
Permanent, Grade G, full-time
£34,895 - £44,166 per annum

Closing date: 10 December 2012

More details: https://jobs.dmu.ac.uk/webrecruitment/Documents/7593.pdf

Join artists featured in the exhibition Light from the Middle East: New Photography for a virtual exhibition tour and conversation with Dr Marta Weiss (Curator of Photographs, V&A) and Dr Venetia Porter (Curator of Islamic and Modern Art, British Museum).

Artists participating in the discussion include: Manal Al-Dowayan, Jowhara AlSaud, Abdulnasser Gharem, Nermine Hammam, Taraneh Hemami, Khalil Joreige, John Jurayj, Sükran Moral, Waheeda Malullah,Youssef Nabil, Mitra Tabrizian and Newsha Tavakolian. Graphic designer Tarek Atrissi will also take part.

Light from the Middle East: New Photography, 13 November 2012–7 April 2013, is the first major exhibition of contemporary photography from and about the Middle East.

Light from the Middle East: Artists in Conversation
Tuesday 13 November, 15.30–17.00
Hochhauser Auditorium, Victoria and Albert Museum
Free, drop in

Image: 

Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Wonder Beirut #13, 1997–2006
Courtesy of the artists and CRG Gallery, New York and In Situ / Fabienne Leclerc, Paris

Following on from BPH's exclusive posting, here, in early October and here in September the Science Museum has announced that Media Space, the new 1800m2 purpose-built venue at the Science Museum will open in June 2013 with a major exhibition featuring contemporary artists' responses to scientific photography from the last two centuries.

• Based on the 2nd floor of the Science Museum, Media Space, a £4m capital project, will comprise of a 500 m² exhibition space, a 290 m² flexible studio space for installations and events, and a café/bar.
• Media Space will showcase the National Photography Collection from the National Media Museum and use this as a starting point to explore, exhibit and discuss works by contemporary artists across a variety of disciplines.
• The first exhibition, Revelations: Experiments in Photography, will explore contemporary artists’ responses to scientific photography from 1850 to 1920.

Media Space will be based on the 2nd floor of the Science Museum and is a collaboration between the National Media Museum (Bradford), and the Science Museum (London), It  will present two major exhibitions and a series of free installations in its studio space each year. The principal founding sponsor is Virgin Media and principal founding donor the Dana and Albert R Broccoli Foundation. The café/bar will be run by Benugo.

The first major exhibition in Media Space will be Revelations: Experiments in Photography, and the inaugural installation in the Virgin Media Studio space will be by digital art/design collective, Universal Everything. Hyundai Motor Company is Presenting Partner of the Universal Everything installation and further details will be announced in early 2013.

Revelations: Experiments in Photography will explore contemporary art photographers’ responses to scientific photography made between 1850 and 1920. The exhibition of nearly 80 works will draw upon important historical photographs from the collections of the National Media Museum and the Science Museum. Scientific photographs can have psychological and emotional power, revealing the world in new and surprising ways. The creation of these images and their dissemination among different audiences has changed over time as have their uses, impact and status.

The exhibition will include photographs made with the assistance of microscopes, telescopes and aircraft. It will look at the ways in which photography has opened new fields of vision, charted the effects of invisible energy, demonstrated the passage of time and captured moments too brief to be seen by the naked eye. It will include works by a broad spectrum of photographers including William Henry Fox Talbot, Joris Jansen. Eadweard Muybridge, Harold Edgerton, Sarah Pickering, Clare Strand, Etienne-Jules Marey and Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Hannah Redler has recently been appointed Head of Media Space and the Science Museum Arts Programme. First joining the Science Museum Group in 1998, Redler has been Head of Arts Programme at the Science Museum since 2004. Revelations is co-curated by Greg Hobson, Curator of Photographs from the National Media Museum along with Dr Ben Burbridge of the University of Sussex.

The capital cost of the project is £4 million and the funding has been raised from a combination of corporate sponsorship, private donations and fundraising initiatives. The Principal Founding Sponsor of Media Space is Virgin Media after whom the Studio will be named. Virgin Media has made this long term commitment, building on their current support for the National Media Museum, which includes the Bradford International Film Festival and the Life Online gallery; the sponsorship of Media Space is a further demonstration of this developing partnership. Source magazine reports that the anticipated visitor numbers for the first exhibition which will run from June to September is 80,000-100,000. 

A major donor to the project is the Dana and Albert R Broccoli Foundation set up by the family of the late Bond producer ‘Cubby’. A photography auction at Christies in May 2012 raised £370,000 towards the project and the recent James Bond 50th Anniversary auction raised a further £47,000 through the sale of the Tom Ford dinner jacket worn by Daniel Craig in Skyfall. Media Space has also received generous support in the form of donations or artworks from a large number of individuals, companies and artists including Ed Burtynsky, Luc Delahaye, Rineke Dijkstra, Mary McCartney and Taryn Simon. The Science Museum Group has also invested significantly in the capital project.

Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of Science Museum Group, says, ‘Media Space is a project that is long overdue. The National Photography Collection ought to be widely known and exhibited because it really is astonishing in quality and scale. We hope to reach diverse audiences and the dynamic, innovative and compelling programme at Media Space will make this happen.’

Hannah Redler, Head of Media Space, says: ‘Media Space is a really exciting project that in many ways realises the original vision for South Kensington to be a place where the two cultures of art and science coincide. We’ve enjoyed a long history at Science Museum of bringing contemporary art interventions into our science galleries, but Media Space offers an unprecedented opportunity for our audiences to encounter photographers and artists’ own investigations into our collections.’

Luke Southern, Virgin Media’s Head of Brand Activation and Partnership says, ‘We’re immensely proud to support this incredible new exhibition space. Both the still and moving image can have a powerful impact on people so, whether online, on TV, in the cinema or in a gallery, we care passionately about bringing that to life in a positive way. Media Space will provide the perfect platform to champion and showcase emerging talent as well as established artists who will inspire every generation.’

Revelations: Experiments in Photography will run from June –September 2013. Further information will be announced in December. Gift Aid ticket price £6.60, standard ticket price £6.00. Media Space is based on the 2nd Floor of the Science Museum on Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2DD. 

For more information see:  www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/mediaspace

This year marks the centenary of the study of photography at Newport. With a number of events, projects and activities planned to celebrate the long-standing reputation of this discipline at the institution, the University is proud to acknowledge the past, present and future of Photography at Newport through this landmark year of celebrations.

The Either/And symposium will examine the place of photography in contemporary culture. Speakers include: Professor Mark Durden, Ben Burbridge, Sarah James, Annabella Pollen and Liam Devlin. Tickets cost £10.00.

 30 Nov 2012 / University of Wales, Newport City Campus

For more information visit: http://www.newport.ac.uk/

Photographers, curators and historians explore contemporary photographic practices and the post-industrial sublime on 16 and 17 November 2012. The symposium will look both forwards and backwards, surveying some of the territories of new photographic landscapes that have emerged since the late 1970s, and addressing the challenges facing photographers today.

Different archaeologies of practice, place and history will be discussed, with presentations from leading practitioners,
curators and academics. The symposium coincides with the exhibition Futureland Now: reflections on the post-industrial landscape, featuring the photographic and lens-based work of John Kippin and Chris Wainwright at the Laing Art Gallery until Sunday 20 January 2013.

Early-bird rate offer! Sign up by 31 October for £20/£10 (student/unwaged), following that attendance will be £30/£15. For more information, please visit www.northeastphoto.net or www.laingartgallery.org.uk or email: Amanda.ritson@sunderland.ac.uk

‘Off the shelf: the self and subjectivity in the artist’s book’ is an exhibition dedicated to various expressions of subjectivity in artist’s publications. It aims to bring together contributions from a variety of formats and editions that consider the self in the artist’s book.

The exhibition will focus on contemporary publications and welcomes submissions from a wide range of genres, including: handmade books, object-books, sculptural books, altered books, installation books, photobooks, photozines, print-on-demand books, zines, serial editions (artists’ magazines), multimedia books and ebooks. Potential topics might include, but are not limited to: 

• Self-portraits as self-analysis
• Archival practices of the self
• Family albums and personal narratives
• Gender and feminist narratives
• Queer identities
• Auto-biography and fictional biographies
• Sexualities and space
• Performance of the self
• Travel book and diasporic strategies

To submit your book, visit the page

http://offdshelf.wordpress.com/submit

Books should be sent by Friday 19^th November 2012.

offdeshelf@gmail.com

OFF THE S{H}ELF: THE SELF AND SUBJECTIVITY IN THE ARTIST’S BOOK

OPEN CALL

http://offdshelf.wordpress.com/

7- 9 December 2012

Stockwell Studios

McCall Close, Jeffreys Road London SW46QU

Plymouth University has been awarded £9,950 from Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts scheme towards an important research and development project which aims to ensure new work made by contemporary photographers has a life and legacy that can benefit future generations - the general public, researchers and students.

Led by photographer Jem Southam, Professor in the School of Art and Media at Plymouth University, the project will involve partners in Birmingham, Manchester and London and will be completed in March 2013. 

Established and emerging photographers need to think about what future they want for their work, where it might go, who will have access to it, and how much contextual information should be kept and made available. 

Key elements of the project include: research into models of good practice, consultation with photographers and the publication of case studies examining different approaches to the ways photographers plan and organise their work and its legacy. The research outcomes will be published on websites and in specialist media and feedback and information exchange will help shape the next phase of the project, including practical guidance for current and future generations of practitioners.

This research is part of a wider, pioneering research project which aims to develop a national strategy for the preservation and dissemination of the work and archives of critically-recognised photographers working from the 1970s to the present day. The ultimate strategy will be of relevance to photographers, collectors, collecting institutions and policy-makers, with the final outcomes having an impact on students, researchers, photographic practitioners and audiences well into the future.

Background

Independent photographic practice has developed significantly since the mid 1960s. Hundreds of photographers have made new work, frequently in the form of sustained series, which explores artistic as well as social, cultural and political issues, much supported through Arts Council and other public funds. The work has resulted in publications and exhibitions in public galleries, experienced by a wide range of audiences.

However, the extended value of this practice, whereby such work can contribute to a wide-ranging and powerful cultural and historical legacy for current and future audiences, has been neglected and is seriously under-developed.

What is the problem?

a)         There are currently some 20,000 students studying degrees in photography and related courses in the UK at any one time. For those that plan to pursue photographic practice as a career, it is vital that consideration of the public legacy for their work is embedded in their developing professional practice. This does not happen at present, nor is there any guidance on how to address the issue.

b)         Most of the work and archives of a generation of photographers who significantly developed and extended the practice of contemporary photography in Britain is held, in effect, in private ‘archives’ i.e. in the photographers’ own homes and studios, with little of the material publicly available for research or display;

c)         Photographers’ archives contain valuable contextual material – negatives, contact sheets, work prints, correspondence, articles and reviews - which provide an important insight into the creative working processes of photographers – important for students, researchers, practitioners, historians now and in the future; this work is not adequately represented in public collections. Some public institutions have acquired important archives, but the approach is currently ad-hoc;

d)         Many photographers themselves are at a loss to know how to deal with their archives and there is little information or guidance available to help them;

e)         There is a widely held assumption that digitisation will provide all the answers to the storage and preservation of a photographic practice; however its durability is untested. There are already many people, not just within the artist community, who are sceptical about the longevity of digital storage;

f)          Whilst a small number of national institutions are coordinating a strategy for collecting prints for their collections, no national strategy exists for collecting and making available photographers’ archives; 

g)         There currently exists no public forum in which to debate and share information on this subject in order to develop a strategic approach. 

In October 2011 a study day brought together contributors from Tate, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Photographers’ Gallery, National Monuments Record, commercial galleries, photographers and academic institutions, including PARC (the Photography and the Archive Research Centre) at LCC, University of the Arts, London.

The discussions led to unanimous agreement that these were very important issues that needed attention. Also, they significantly informed us about the issues and challenges facing photographers and collecting institutions and helped determine our plans.

NOTES 

Project partners

The Photography Research Group at Plymouth University, which includes: Jem Southam, photographer and Professor of Photography in the School of Art and Media (leading this project); writer and curator Liz Wells; writer, curator, former Director of Photoworks, David Chandler.

Birmingham Central Library, which holds one of the UK’s National Collections of Photography, led by Head of Photographs, Pete James. As well as holding extensive historic photographic collections, Birmingham Library actively collects contemporary photography, and has recently acquired the work and archives of established figures such as Paul Hill and John Blakemore.

Redeye, the Photography Network, a not-for-profit organisation set up to support photographers at every level, led by Director Paul Herrmann. Based in Manchester, UK, Redeye has subscribers and users across the UK and globally.

PARC (Photography and the Archive Research Centre), LCC, University of the Arts, London, led by writer and curator Professor Val Williams.

Dr. Jane Fletcher, photographer and Senior Lecturer, BA (Hons) Photography at the University of Derby. Jane formerly worked at the National Media Museum in Bradford.

Project coordinator/researcher

Val Millington is an experienced arts and cultural sector researcher and consultant. Now freelance, Val’s former roles include Director of Visual Arts and Crafts for South West Arts and Director of the National Federation of Artists Studio Providers. She was also Chair of the Board of Spike Island in Bristol for six years.

Contact

Please email Val Millington for further information, or if you would like to keep in touch and receive project updates from time to time, including invitations to the consultation events we are planning in London, Manchester and Bristol in early 2013.     Val Millington, tel: 01392 278293; m: 07778 922230; e: val.millington@lineone.net

At a special colloquium yesterday invited attendees previewed the National Gallery's new exhibition Seduced by Art and explored some of the images and the links between photography and art. The exhibition is the Gallery's first major photography show, despite a relationship with photography which goes back to the Gallery's Keeper and first Director Sir Charles Eastlake who was the first President of the Photographic Society of London. It hopes to attract 50,000 people to the exhibition. 

This exhibition explores early photography from the thirty years from photography's announcement in 1839 to 1870 and the its most recent thirty years to 2012. Showing photographs from the mid-19th century and the most exciting contemporary photographs, alongside historical painting. It takes a provocative look at how photographers use fine art traditions, including Old Master painting, to explore and justify the possibilities of their art.

Work by leading photographers such as Martin Parr, Craigie Horsfield, Tom Hunter, Sam Taylor-Wood, Richard Billingham, Julia Margaret Cameron and Gustave Le Gray will be on display beside key paintings from the National Gallery collection.

The exhibition has been co-curated by Hope Kingsley from the WIlson Centre of Photography and Christopher Riopelle from the Gallery. As one delegate commented 'Hope is the only person with the knowledge and background to make such an exhibition, and to make it work so well'. The exhibition's thesis is explored in a coherent way and accessible way with appropriately chosen images from both mediums. The selected photographs and works of art help the curators make their points and the physical exhibition space is well used with the hanging and lighting used to give balance to the photography and paintings.Excellent use is made made of the doorways of the exhibition space to frame works beyond. The exhibition is a triumph in its conception and execution and, will be seen as a landmark exhibition. A catalogue is available at £19.95 (softback) or £30 (hardback). 

The exhibition opens on 31 October until 20 January 2013. More information is here: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/seduced-by-art-photography-past-and-present

About the exhibition

Paintings and early and contemporary photographs are presented together according to traditional genres such as portraiture, still life, nudes and landscape, highlighting the universality of the themes and influences across all the works, both past and present.

Drawing attention to one particular and rich strand of photography’s history – that of the influence and inspiration of historical painting – the exhibition features pictures by the greatest British and French photographers alongside work by an international array of contemporary artists. It includes new photography and video specially commissioned for the exhibition and on public display for the first time, plus works rarely seen in the UK.

Exceptionally, three ‘interventions’ of contemporary photographs by Richard Billingham, Craigie Horsfield and Richard Learoyd will be displayed within the Gallery’s collection, juxtaposed with great 19th-century paintings by Constable,Degas and Ingres.

Works on display

The show includes almost 90 photographs alongside selected paintings from the National Gallery’s collection. Key photographs will come from the Wilson Centre for Photography, Tate, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Media Museum in Bradford, Fundació La Caixa in Spain, and direct from the photographers themselves.

Travelling exhibition

The exhibition will travel to CaixaForum Barcelona (21 February 2013 – 19 May 2013) and CaixaForum Madrid (19 June 2013 – 15 September 2013).

Paintings and early and contemporary photographs are presented together according to traditional genres such as portraiture, still life, nudes and landscape, highlighting the universality of the themes and influences across all the works, both past and present.

Drawing attention to one particular and rich strand of photography’s history – that of the influence and inspiration of historical painting – the exhibition features pictures by the greatest British and French photographers alongside work by an international array of contemporary artists. It includes new photography and video specially commissioned for the exhibition and on public display for the first time, plus works rarely seen in the UK.

Exceptionally, three ‘interventions’ of contemporary photographs by Richard Billingham, Craigie Horsfield and Richard Learoy are displayed within the Gallery’s collection, juxtaposed with great 19th-century paintings by Constable,Degas and Ingres.

In 2013 Wolverhampton Photographic Society will be celebrating its 125th anniversary and the 200th anniversary of its most famous photographer's birth, Oscar Gustave Rejlander (1813-1875). To celebrate this a commemorative plaque will be laid on Rejlander's unmarked grave in Kensal Green Cemetery (http://www.kensalgreencemetery.com) on Saturday, 3 November 2012.

The project has been fully funded from WPS funds and from personal donations from members of WPS Historical Group.The project has taken two years to come to fruition, and the WPS is very grateful for the help and support it has  received from staff at Kensal Green, and especially Joe Hughes from the Friends of Kensal Green. The memorial plaque was hand-carved and gilded by the sculptor David Kelly.

Everyone is invited to attend a short ceremony to mark the laying of this plaque at 12 noon on Saturday 3rd November 2012. The event will start at the Anglican Chapel, Kensal Green Cemetery, and then proceed to Rejlander's grave for the formal laying of the commemorative plaque. Afterwards it will move to the Dissenter's Chapel for refreshments. The event will end at around 1.30pm.

Booking is Essential. If you wish to attend, please email: d.h.kingston@yahoo.co.uk

Postscript

After the event why not pay homage to Frederick Scott Archer who's grave is also in the cemetery (http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/wet-plate-collodion). There are also plenty of other photography related individuals 'resting' there...

Pete James, Head of Photographs at Birmingham Central Library talks to Andrew Lacon and Stuart Whipps about the work they are making for REFERENCE WORKS: the Library of Birmingham Photography Project. The project, Birmingham’s largest photography commission, sees four photographers and four students/graduates from Birmingham City University making creative responses to the existing and new library building. The discussion will outline the scope of the commission; describe the process of making new work and the vital role of the Library’s nationally and internationally significant collections at the heart of the new iconic cultural institution.

The event is the first in a series of Photographers Talks linked to REFERENCE WORKS, the Library of Birmingham Photography Project.

www.reference-works.com

Thursday 1 November 2012

6.00 – 7.30pm

Library Theatre, off Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3HQ

Admission Free

Photography The Whole Story concentrates on the pictures and stories behind them. In a world where billions of snapshots are taken every year, why are some photographers and their works considered so significant?

People have always tried to capture moments as images and over the centuries it was the task of artists to select subjects and set them down, but in 1839 a new medium appeared: photography. Originally messy and time-consuming, the photograph rapidly evolved to become a means of capturing the world 'in the blink of an eye'.

If you love photography and would like to know more, Photography: The Whole Story is a celebration of the most inspiring photographs that have come from this very modern medium. Illustrated, in-depth essays cover every photographic genre, from early portraits and tableaux to the digital montages, split-second sports images and conceptual photographs of today.

The book begins with a succinct overview of photography, placing it in the context of the social and cultural developments that have taken place since its arrival. The book then traces chronologically the rapid evolution of photographic style, period by period and movement by movement.

The ideas and works of key photographers are assessed to reveal what motivated them and what each was striving to achieve. Detailed cultural and individual artist timelines clarify historical context.

Supporting each essay are close analyses of key works that single out the characteristics of each period – such as use of colour and visual metaphor, quirks of composition and technical innovations – enabling us to grasp each work’s full meaning. Here are the tiny but telling details of social portraits; the stark, graphic qualities of urban landscapes; the erotic, or the undertones of nude studies; and the humour, anger or pathos of conceptual works.

• ISBN 9780500290453
• 24.50 x 17.50 cm
• Flexibound PLC (with jacket)
• 576pp
• With over 1000 colour illustrations
• First published 2012
• £19.95

See: http://www.thamesandhudson.com/Photography_The_Whole_Story/9780500290453

A new book simply titled Photographers was launched last night in London. Written by BPH's Michael Pritchard's it looks at photographers and their cameras. The photographers featured include well-known names from Picture Post and Life magazines, press photographers and names such as Cartier-Bresson, Bailey, Donovan, Eistenstaedt, Burrows and many others. The Leica, Nikon, Speed Graphic cameras are amongst those shown.

The book is published by Reel Art Press and is available at a pre-publication price of £30. See: http://www.reelartpress.com/catalog/edition/47/photographers

Image: Michael Pritchard, left, with publisher Tony Nourmand. 

London auction house Bonhams has closed its London Photographs Department as part of a wider reorganisation. In future photographs will be handled by the Book department. The department was established in 2009 under the leadership of Jocelyn Phillips and it had held a number of successful sales, establishing Bonhams as an leading place to sell photography in the United Kingdom. Prior to 2009 photography had been sold across multiple departments.

Christie's and Sotheby's have realigned their own departments over recent years to concentrate on specific areas of the market such as fashion and contemporary photography. Sotheby's moved its department from London to Paris.

Prior to joining Bonhams Phillips spent over five years at Sotheby’s, working on single owner sales of the collections of Dr William K Ehrenfeld and Marie-Thérèse & Andre Jammes. At Bonhams she had held a selling exhibition of David Bailey's photographs of the 1960s as well as regular photograph auctions. Phillips is the author of Collect Contemporary Photography, published in 2012 by Thames and Hudson. .

Publishers are invited to submit up to ten of books published in 2012 for the Best Photography Book and the Best Moving Image Book categories of the 2013 Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards. The author/s of the winning book in each category will receive a cash prize of £5,000. The initial submissions deadline is 5^th December 2012.

Books on photography or the moving image (including film, video or television, digital imaging and animation) published between 1 January and 31 December 2012 may be eligible for the 2013 awards. Please refer to the rules and conditions attached for further details. 

To be considered, one copy of each of your submissions must be mailed together with the attached entry form to me here at the World Photography Organization, 9 Manchester Square, W1U 3PL, with a deadline of Wednesday 5^th December 2012.

Kraszna-Krausz Foundation chairman Michael G. Wilson, renowned film producer, photography collector and founder of Wilson Centre for Photography, is delighted to announce that the Book Awards will, for the third year, be presented at the 25^th April 2012 Sony World Photography Awards. 

For further information visit the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation and World Photography Organization websites:

http://www.kraszna-krausz.org.uk

http://www.worldphoto.org

The National Media Museum (NMeM) in Bradford is undertaking a three week consultation as it launches a spending review as part of a wider restructure designed to cut running costs after visitors numbers halved in 10 years (see http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/2680769:BlogPost:55593).The review aims to bring down the running costs while also looking at ways to increase visitor numbers through improved public exhibitions, events and cinema programme. There will be job losses amongst staff, including curatorial and collection support roles, and a number of staff are having to apply for a smaller number of roles. 

Heather Mayfield, deputy director of the Science Museum Group - to which the NMeM belongs - announced a 'back to basics' review to 'reconnect the museum to its audiences'. She added: 'We recognise that this is an extremely difficult time for staff and will ensure that consultation will be conducted with the utmost consideration for any staff member affected.'

In a statement, the museum added: 'Visitor numbers have seen a decline from a peak of almost one million in 2001 to 500,000 in 2011 - although this decline has been stabilised over the past 12 months with the opening of the new Life Online gallery and an improved family offer at holiday periods. 'The review aims to deliver an improved public exhibition, events and cinema programme, which appeals more to audiences locally and nationally, supports its status as a national museum and increases access to its world famous collections of film, photography and television.'

A recent review carried out by the museum’s parent organisation, the Science Museum Group, found that average costs per visitor at the National Media Museum were 30% more than at the Science Museum in London, the National Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester and the National Railway Museum in York.  

The museum has been based in Bradford since opening in 1983 as the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. Despite reports of an 'axe' hanging over the museum the review may represent an attempt to take it back to a focus on its world-class collections under its new Head Jo Quinton-Tulloch as it addresses the relationship between Bradford and the London-based Media Space. Sadly, it seems that job losses amongst curatorial staff will make it far more difficult to realise the review outcomes which will inevitably require better curatorial support.

Update2: A report in Amateur Photographer today (see: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/photo-news/539224/media-space-project-at-heart-of-cash-strapped-nmm) quotes a museum spokesperson as saying that Media Space remains at the heart of the museum's strategy to open up the Collections despite the review.

As the full funding for Media Space has not been secured this suggests that some of the savings made in Bradford through cutting staff and services will be used to underwrite Media Space's future costs. 

A member writes...Mr Paul Bucherer-Dietschi harbours a rare collection of historical images of Afghanistan, among them a large collection of images created by the Royal Engineers in the Afghan wars. I was fortunate to do approx. 1 year's voluntary work at the Swiss Afghanistan Institute to assist in transcribing English letters of the Royal Engineer photographers and artists and assessing the photographic material. This collection also includes a wonderful set of albums called the "souvenir d'Afghanistan". The online collection can be found here: http://www.phototheca-afghanica.ch/index.php?id=33&no_cache=1

David Bruce writing in the Scottish Society for the History of Photography's (SSHoP) newsletter SSHoP Talk reports that the ambition of building a dedicated centre for Scottish photography at the former Royal High School on the Calton Hill in Edinburgh was not likely to be realised and the vehicle to do it, Hill Adamson Ltd, has been wound up.

The project proved to be beyond reach, financially, and a subsequent attempt to create a network of interested galleries and local institutions failed to meet Creative Scotland’s approval. David discusses the project and what it has achieved as well a potential beacon for the future. Despite the failure of the Calton Hill project Scottish photography both old and new is well and truly on the map.  

SSHoP can be found here: http://sshop.org.uk/

Read more of the history of the SNPC here.

The National Gallery has a number of events around its Seduced by Art: Photography Past and Present exhibition which runs from 31 October 2012 - 20 January 2013.

• 27 October there is a colloquium in the exhibition space in the Sainsbury Wing on Level -2. Numbers are very limited and by invitation only.    
• 1 November, Hope Kingsley, co-curator, will give a free lunchtime lecture in the Sainsbury Wing lecture theatre: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/calendar/lunchtime-talk-1-november-2012
• 9 November Chris Riopelle and Hope Kingsley will be 'in conversation' 
• 14 November at the Courtauld is a free research seminar. This is not bookable so arrival early to secure a place. http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/researchforum/events/2012/autumn/nov14_HistPhoto.shtml
• There will also be artist's talks and workshops on other dates 

Full details are available below and further events will be added throughout the exhibition's run.

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/seduced-by-art-photography-past-and-present/*/tab/2