This October the National Galleries of Scotland is partying like it’s 1984 with Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection, at the Portrait gallery from 26 October 2024 – 16 March 2025. Step back in time to the 1980s when the National Galleries of Scotland officially began its world-class photography collection. Explore over 100 art works from Scotland’s national photography collection, of some 55,000 photographs, dating from the 1840s to the present day in this free-to-visit exhibition. Marvel at historic photographs, visit some famous faces and discover an exciting range of what makes a photograph in this eclectic celebration of the nation’s photography collection.

Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection marks this magnificent milestone, reflecting on all that has been accomplished in the last four decades and looking to the future. In the 1980s recognition of photography as an artform was growing rapidly as museums and galleries around the world were looking to establish and grow their collections. National Galleries of Scotland were no different. Having begun collecting photography in the late 19th century, it was in 1984 that the National Galleries of Scotland

collection was formally established. A world-renowned photography collection it is regarded as one of the best in the UK, its breadth and quality matches those of London institutions such as the V&A and National Portrait Gallery, London. Due to its original remit to collect the very best of Scottish and international photography, the collection has developed over the last 40 years to have global reach.

Now over 55,000 artworks strong the ever-growing collection is showcased in this lively exhibition which explores the major themes, subjects and processes from throughout the history of photography. Including works by major photographers such as Julia Margaret Cameron, Robert Mapplethorpe and Annie Leibovitz. Highlighting the enticing and universal nature of photography, the exhibition will include six themes; portraiture, landscape, documentary photography, archives, inclusion and experimentation.

Find portraits of famous Scots such as, Andy Murray, The Proclaimers, Jackie Kay and David Tennant as well as fun and vibrant portraits such as Viviane Sassen’s In Bloom. A newly acquired work consisting of photographs, film and performance by Glasgow-based artists Beagles & Ramsay will be on display for the first time. The Sanguis Gratia Artis (Black Pudding Self-Portrait), is a performance piece alongside photographs where the artists make black pudding out of their own blood to explore the boundaries of the self-portrait.

Celebrating the connectivity and nostalgia that photographs bring to people worldwide, the exhibition looks at how this incredible artform can be traced through generations of Scottish photographers and schools of photography. Embracing the eclectic nature of photography, vibrant displays will create interesting contrasts and connections between historic and contemporary images. Discover how the ideas and subject matters that started with David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson in the 1840s continues to be photographed centuries apart with different and modern cameras. Take pride in the influential alumni of Scottish photography schools whose connections extend around the world, making Scotland a significant home to photography. Explore the idea of what makes a photograph, reflecting on changing technology and taking a look at artists who are pushing the boundaries of what we might have traditionally thought of as a photograph.

Get a deeper understanding of how photographers have explored the themes of landscape and environment change including a new acquisition by American, Sant Khalsa combining photography and sculpture. Displayed alongside early Scottish photographs by John Muir Wood, showcasing the beautiful shapes created by trees. This offers a fascinating look at how these two artists explore the same subject matter in completely different ways.

Discover works by revered international photographers, with exceptional photographs from the ARTIST ROOMS collection, jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. The exhibition draws a selection of works by globally renowned artists, such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Diane Arbus. This will also be the first time the National Galleries of Scotland has shown work from the ARTIST ROOMS collection by Don McCullin, one of the world’s greatest photojournalists.

Scotland is known as a centre for documentary photography and the exhibition will celebrate this with a medley of the best documentary photographers who have made work in Scotland. Weaving in some old favourites and new acquisitions this will highlight photographers such as Alfred Eisenstaedt, Eve Arnold, David Hurn, Joseph Mackenzie and Bert Hardy. A wall of Hill & Adamson’s fisherwomen will mark an important moment in the development of documentary photography not just in Scotland but in the history of the medium.

In the years immediately following its establishment, National Galleries of Scotland received a number of significant bequests which quickly grew the collection. The exhibition will explore some of these major archives, such as The Riddell collection which joined the collection in 1985, ARTIST ROOMS, established in 2008 and jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate, and the MacKinnon Collection that was jointly acquired with the National Library of Scotland in 2018. Throughout the decades, the collection continues to grow and each year new additions are made, with an increasing focus on equality, diversity and inclusion.

Looking to the next 40 years, the exhibition also focuses on acquisitions from the last decade which address issues such as equality, inclusion and diversity. National Galleries of Scotland actively seek opportunities to broaden representation across the collection and the exhibition highlights this as a priority area for collecting in the future. Representation of female photographers has been a recent priority, with work by artists including Chrystel Lebas, Wendy McMurdo, Chloe Dewe Mathews and Arpita Shah entering the collection.

Anne Lyden, Director-General at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: ‘Photography is a cornerstone of the National Galleries of Scotland, accounting for almost half of the entire collection. It is with great delight that we celebrate the medium with this impressive and engaging exhibition drawn entirely from the vast holdings of the nation’s collection. Over the course of the last forty years many photographers, collectors, donors, curators, and enthusiasts have contributed to this important world-class collection which belongs to the people of Scotland. We are excited to celebrate this anniversary with our visitors through such a dynamic display.’

Louise Pearson, Photography Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: ‘The 40th anniversary is the perfect moment to draw from the full breadth of Scotland’s photography collection. This vibrant and fun exhibition includes photographs of famous Scots and works by photographers who have become household names. It opens many possibilities in making connections across our country’s photography collection, sharing highlights as well as celebrating lesser-known works. We want visitors to join us in celebrating the collection and take pride in Scotland’s contribution to photography worldwide.’

This exhibition is funded by The Morton Charitable Trust and the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery

Supporting the exhibition are a series of live, online and hybrid events and workships including: an opening talk Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection (hybrid, free). Join a panel of invited speakers to mark the opening of our Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection exhibition. The conversation will look at the national photography collection in the context of the 1980s.

Read more: https://www.nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/celebrating-40-years-scotlands-photography-collection
See a STV piece on the exhibition: https://news.stv.tv/east-central/exhibition-celebrating-40-years-of-scotlands-national-photography-collection

Image: (Top:) CC:  David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson / Jeanie Wilson [Newhaven 15]; (lower:) Oscar Marzaroli, The Castlemilk Lads, 1963. Purchased 1985 © Estate of Oscar Marzaroli.

24.39 is the new name for the former Photo Discoevr Fair and is now run by Barnabé Moinard. It is a key event during the Paris-Photo fair bringing vintage and collectable photography and books to the contemporary fair. 24.39 will bring together dealers, gallery owners, collectors and international experts every year. 24.39 boasts vintage prints spanning from the very beginnings of photography in 1839 to the end of the twentieth century. The fair offers a broad selection of works to discover - both eclectic and varied, sometimes little known, often wonderful, and always surprising.

24.39 is a must-attend event for professionals and amateurs alike: a unique rendez-vous where the most unusual and distinctive collections are born.

24.39
Saturday, 9 November 2024, 1000-1600
Pavillon wagram, 47 avenue de wagram, Paris 17
Free entry
Details: https://24-39.com/about

Tying in with Paris Photo (7-10 November) the latest issue of The Classic has been published in print and as a free download. In this issue, it interviews Malcolm Daniel at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Ettore Molinario, due to open Casa Museo in Milan next spring. There are also lengthy interviews with Michael W. Sonnenfeldt and Richard Grosbard of MUUS Collection and Robert Muir, Rachel Wetzel, Michael Greisman and Sasha Belgrave each discuss one of their research projects. There is much more besides. 

You will find an article about Paperbase on The Classic Platform, our online resource, as well as the first three interviews in a new series, The Next Generation in Classic Photography and Heat and Dust – Captain Linnaeus Tripe’s views of Burma, an article about the prints held by Hulton Archive, written by the archive’s Vice President Matthew Butson.

Download: https://theclassicphotomag.com/the-classic-12/

From photographs of Northern England in the early 1970s, to his renowned theatre and Samuel Beckett photography, to images of James Baldwin, and Paula Rego in her studio, this is a comprehensive exhibition of John Haynes’ work.

When Niloufar Bakhtiar Bakhtiari met Jane Haynes during a zoom bridge session in the Covid-19 lockdown, Niloufar mentioned a Samuel Beckett photograph she admired in Sloane Square restaurant Colbert. Jane revealed that the photograph was taken by her husband John… Years later, John Haynes and Niloufar Bakhtiar Bakhtiari collaborate to bring A Life Passing By to the history-rich exhibition space in Avenue Studios.

Niloufar strongly believes in the importance of memory and the way in which it moulds our identity, and this permeates John’s work. With small group gatherings, reminiscent of the literary salons of the past, the exhibition will offer something unusual in today’s art world — intimacy, discussion and a space for contemplation.

A life passing by John Haynes. A showcase of photographs from 1963-present
4 November-6 December 2024
By appointment at 3 Avenue Studios, Sydney Close, London SW3 6HW
For more information, to view the exhibition, attend the events email: gracepilkingtonpublicity@gmail.com

See: https://www.johnhaynesphotography.net/

Image: © John Haynes, Samuel Beckett at The Royal Court Theatre, 1973 

Photography versus Thatcher: The Photo Co-op Archive, prints and objects, 1979 to 1986 – Photofusion’s origin story tells the story of the early years of the Photo Co-op, the founding organisation which later grew into Photofusion. Opening on 14 November 2024, this exhibition features vintage items contributed by the participating photographers from their archives that now form the Photo Co-op Archive at the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol.

Curated by Chris Boot, and in collaboration with the Martin Parr Foundation, the exhibition features photographs by Janis Austin, Corry Bevington, Luis Bustamante, Gina Glover, Crispin Hughes, Sarah Saunders, Vicky White and Sarah Wyld. These include a wide selection of original library photographs used to promote social causes, with objects and documents from the time, and examples of laminated panels from campaign exhibitions. Seen together for the first time, these archival artefacts reveal the ‘world view’ the Photo Co-op created in photographs – a style of advocacy for progressive causes and, in particular, for the solidarity of women, made for and with the community.
Photo Co-op began as a group of campaigning photographers in 1979, making pictures to engage in the battle against the social and economic values of Margaret Thatcher as they were rolled out in Wandsworth. The organisation thrived with the support of the Greater London Council (the GLC) – a thorn in Thatcher’s side – until she abolished it in 1986. Photo Co-op later moved to Brixton and became Photofusion.

A network of volunteer photographers and journalists, many who made pictures for the community newspaper ‘Pavement’, got organised as ‘Wandsworth Photo Co-op’ and mounted an exhibition of work by 25 photographers on the street outside Battersea Arts Centre in 1979. Within months, a mix of photographers, teachers, social workers, community activists, students, and others invested in their local community were meeting regularly, buying materials together, lending their help as photographers to community causes, producing campaigns, sharing darkrooms, making exhibitions and calendars, and starting a photo library.

The growing Co-op was supported by the Greater London Council (GLC)’s innovative, Community Arts Panel; initially to pay three women a shared salary to engage with local women’s issues in southwest London. Their work included campaigns to Save the South London Hospital, on behalf of women, and against privatization. The GLC supported establishing an office and community darkroom in 1984 and doubled its support of now six photographers.

The Co-op’s photo library of campaign images was loaned for reproduction to local and national causes and used in multiple campaign posters and leaflets by the GLC itself, arguably Thatcher’s most articulate institutional critic, including by its Low Pay, Women’s and Popular Planning Units. The Co-op’s style of documentary advocacy pictures became central to the GLC’s visual language until its abolition. Its abolition by Thatcher - alongside winning the Falklands War, beating the miners, and shrinking public services – was one of Thatcher’s signature acts.

The women who won support as “Women’s Photo Co-op” in 1982 were Gina Glover, Sarah Saunders and Corry Bevington. With additional GLC support they grew to include Janis Austin, Vicky White, and Crispin Hughes. Chris Boot joined the membership as its first administrator in 1984 and Luis Bustamante its first education worker in 1985. After GLC funding ended, Photo Co-op continued with the support of the regional Arts Council, moving in 1990 to a new space in Brixton with a gallery, a teaching darkroom and a studio focusing on education and enabling photographers in the community. With the move in 1990, Photo Co-op rebranded as Photofusion, continuing to run the Photo Library until 2015.

Chris Boot (Curator) says: ‘It has been great to have the opportunity to explore the history of Photo Co-op, where, just out of college in 1983, and wanting to be part of the cultural resistance to Thatcherism, I got my first job in photography. The photographers involved at the outset - and the heirs of those who since died – have dug into many storage boxes to put together this archive of objects of their time: photographs, laminated panels, press clippings, minutes, etc, now the Photo Co-op Archive at the Martin Parr Foundation. It’s a compelling story, of a women-led workers’ co-op, forged in the particular fires of Wandsworth – the front line of Thatcher’s sweeping cuts – initially activists-with-cameras who volunteered their picture-making skills to local groups and campaigns, who then won funds from the Greater London Council to pay photographers to make campaign pictures for and with the community, and where the pictures were in turn used widely by the GLC itself, becoming central to their campaigning visual language. Women are usually the heroes of these vivid documentary-advocacy photographs, very of their historical moment that, between them, offer a coherent idea of how society might value and care for its citizens, while challenging prevailing stereotypes of gender, race and class’.

Jenni Grainger, Director of Photofusion says: ‘We are delighted to be presenting this exhibition in collaboration with the Martin Parr Foundation. It speaks both directly to the story of how Photofusion came into existence, and to the fact that, 30 years on, we remain a place for people to express their creativity, their views, and where photographers are supported at all stages of their careers. Our new home on Beehive Place, in the heart of Brixton, is the perfect place to exhibit the ‘world view’ that was created by photographers at the beginning of our organisation and understand the social causes they were championing at the time’.

Photography versus Thatcher: The Photo Co-op Archive, prints and objects, 1979 to 1986 – Photofusion’s origin story
15 November 2024 to 4 January 2025
https://www.photofusion.org/

Image: (top) Mrs Quick's Hospital, Panel exhibition. © Gina Glover_Photo Co-op. Courtesy Martin Parr Foundation. (Lower:) Demo Against National Front, who were meeting in Battersea Town Hall during 1979 General Election. © Sarah Wyld_Photo Co-op. Courtesy of Martin Parr Foundation

Signal Film and Media (SFM) is inviting applications from photographers or lens-based artists who will work collaboratively with local people to produce a new artistic commission that responds to The Sankey Family Photographic Archive resulting in a public exhibition.

The Sankey Photographic Archive is a stunning collection of over 10,000 glass plate negatives and postcards of Barrow and the north-west, which were produced and shared around the world from 1895 to the 1970s. The whole collection has now been digitised and can be searched on our new dedicated website.

We welcome applications from photographers or lens-based artists who have experience of, and the passion for, working in a socially-engaged and/or a participatory way. We welcome artists with an interest in working with archival photography and how the process can inform the development of their work.

Applications are encouraged from photographers/artists from all backgrounds and we actively encourage artists to apply who belong to one or more of the following groups: Black, Asian or from a Minority Ethnic group, Refugee, D/deaf, Disabled, Neurodivergent, Working Class and LGBTQI+.

This project is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to use digital media and creative interpretation to explore the Sankey Photography Archive and make it accessible to a diverse range of people.

Fee: £9,000 (To cover artist fee & workshop delivery fee, production materials, any travel and accommodation needs).
Exhibition Dates: April 2025.
Location: Barrow-in Furness, Cumbria, LA14 5QR.

Details: https://signalfilmandmedia.com/about/work-with-us/

Since the invention of photography in 1839, many of the contributions made by women have been forgotten, leaving their legacy on the margins of history. In recent times, this biased view has evolved thanks to the historiographical rescue of numerous amateur or professional women, regular participants in the different stages of the creative process (researchers, photographers, retouchers, assistants, etc.). In Retratadas, Stéphany Onfray offers a novel approach by analyzing the beginnings of the photographic medium from the perspective of gender. Thanks to a lucid reinterpretation of the relationship that women had with the camera, no longer as operators, but as portrayed, she proposes new lines of reflection to dismantle the hegemonic discourses that have historically confined them to a role of passive observers. Through an exhaustive examination of nineteenth-century visual and material culture, from painting, literature and theatre to the press and a nascent fashion industry, the author explores how, by capitalising on their own image and therefore their bodies, women displaced the boundaries between the sexes, becoming part of a cultural and social dialogue that not only redefined gender boundaries but also favoured a more contemporary, affective and artistic vision of the photographic object.

Retradas. Fotografía, género y modernidad en el siglo xix español [Portrayed. Photography, gender and modernity in 19th century Spain}
Stéphany Onfray
Cátedra, 2024, 360 pages
ISBN 978-84-376-4858-3
€29.95 (paper)
Details: https://catedra.com/libro/arte-grandes-temas/retratadas-stephany-onfray-9788437648583/

This display explores how visual representations of Italy developed. These range from 15th-century woodcuts to 19th-century photography.

Books, travel guides and diaries from the Library's collections document the rise in visitors to Italy. You will see how book illustrators and photographers saw Italy, and how their work provided an impression of the country for British and European audiences. Early book illustrators usually presented a highly idealised, almost mythical, view of the country. They focussed on magnificent Roman ruins, imposing Renaissance buildings, and beautiful rural scenes.

The invention of photography in the 19th century provided a new way to record Italy. Early photographers continued the picturesque tradition of book illustrators. You can explore this in Robert Macpherson's photographs of Rome and examples from John Ruskin's collection of daguerreotypes (on loan from The Ruskin, Lancaster University).

See recently acquired 1840s calotype negatives, probably by James Calder MacPhail and James Dunlop. These are the earliest surviving photographs of Italy by Scots.

You can also enjoy James Craig Annan's 1890s photogravures of Venice and Lombardy. These showed how handheld cameras could record street scenes and everyday life in Italy.

Images of Italy (1480 to 1900)
until 2 November 2024
National Library of Scotland
See: https://www.nls.uk/whats-on/images-of-italy-1480-to-1900/

Magda Kuca is offering a beginners collodion workhop. Develop your practice through this one-day workshop, offering the opportunity to learn wet plate collodion - a victorian photography process using silver and light to obtain a unique images on the glass plates with a large format camera. The session will include:

1. Health & Safety Information
2. Information on wet-plate darkroom equipment-studio work and field work
3. Preparation of chemistry-glass cleaning agent, cadmium-free salted collodion, silver bath, developer , standard fixer. Note on maturing and shelf-life of chemistry
4. Introduction to large format camera and collodion plate holders.
5. Collodion studio lighting set-up and notes on exposure measuring methods
6. Presentation of plate preparation and glass cleaning methods including commonly made mistakes
7. Creating wet plate portraits/still lifes ( it will be up to you, you are welcome to bring any objects you would like to use for shooting) for as long as time allows.
8. Varnishing and various varnish types
9. Troubleshooting tips

London's National Portrait Gallery has announced its 2025 programme which includes several exhibitions of photographic note. First up, in spring is The Face Magazine: Culture Shift (20 February - 18 May 2025). The Face Magazine: Culture Shift celebrates iconic fashion images and portraits from The Face, a trail-blazing youth culture and style magazine that has shaped the creative and cultural landscape in Britain and beyond. From 1980 to 2004, The Face played a vital role in creating contemporary culture. Musicians featured on its covers achieved global success and the models it championed – including a young Kate Moss – became the most recognisable faces of their time. The magazine also launched the careers of many leading photographers and fashion stylists, who were given the creative freedom to radically reimagine the visual language of fashion photography and define the spirit of their times. Relaunched in 2019, the magazine continues to provide a disruptive and creative space for image-makers, championing fresh talent in photography, fashion, music and graphic design. This exhibition will bring together the work of over 80 photographers, including Sheila Rock, Stéphane Sednaoui, Corinne Day, David Sims, Elaine Constantine and Sølve Sundsbø, and will feature over 200 photographs – a unique opportunity to see many of these images away from the magazine page for the first time.

The Face Magazine: Culture Shift is curated by Sabina Jaskot-Gill, Senior Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, together with Curatorial Consultants Lee Swillingham, former Art Director of The Face from 1992 to 1999, and Norbert Schoerner, a photographer whose work featured in the magazine throughout the Nineties and Noughties. The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication of the same name, with contributions from Ekow Eshun, Sabina Jaskot-Gill, Jamie Morgan, Pete Paphides and Matthew Whitehouse, and interviews between Nick Logan and Lee Swillingham; Neville Brody, Jill Furmanovsky and Sheila Rock; Elaine Constantine, Glen Luchford and Nancy Rohde; and Norbert Schoerner and Stéphane Sednaoui.

In the autumn Robin Muir has curated Cecil Beaton's Fashionable World (9 October 2025 - 11 January 2026). Renowned as a fashion illustrator, Oscar-winning costume designer, social caricaturist and writer, Cecil Beaton – ‘The King of Vogue’ – was an extraordinary force in the 20th century British and American creative scenes. Elevating fashion and portrait photography into an art form, his era-defining photographs captured beauty, glamour, and star power in the interwar and early post-war eras. No previous exhibition has exclusively spotlighted his ground-breaking fashion work, a pivotal aspect of his career that laid the foundation for his later successes. With this in mind, Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World will showcase Beaton at his most triumphant – from the Jazz Age and the Bright Young Things, to the high fashion brilliance of the Fifties and the glittering, Oscar-winning success of My Fair Lady. In between, he endured the hardship of war as a photographer of the home front and of the Western Desert campaign and beyond. From 1939 as a royal photographer, by appointment to the House of Windsor, he propelled the monarchy into the modern age.

Curated by Robin Muir, a Contributing Editor to British Vogue (to which Beaton himself contributed for over fifty years), this new exhibition will chart Beaton’s rapid progression through the fashionable worlds of film, art and couture, influenced in London, Paris, New York and Hollywood by the fast-moving pace of metropolitan life. The exhibition will be accompanied by a new publication, Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World, by Robin Muir.

November also sees the rteurn of the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize exhibition (13 November-8 February 2026) and a new commission.The TWPPP showcases the work of talented young photographers, gifted amateurs and established professionals in the very best of contemporary photography. The competition celebrates a diverse range of images and tells the fascinating stories behind the creation of works, from formal commissioned portraits to more spontaneous and intimate moments capturing friends and family. The selected images, many of which are on display for the first time, explore both traditional and contemporary approaches to the photographic portrait whilst capturing a range of characters, moods and locations. The annual In Focus display will also highlight new work by an established photographer. The 2025 edition will see the unveiling of a new commission for the Gallery’s Collection, to be announced in November 2024. A new publication, including all works exhibited as part of the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize, will be available from November 2025.

See: www.npg.org.uk

Images: L-R: Jazzie B (Soul II Soul) by Enrique Badulescu, April 1989 © Enrique Badulescu; Kate Moss by Glen Luchford, March 1993 © Glen Luchford. Styling Venetia Scott; NPG x40415. Cecil Beaton and Stephen Tennant, ‘Riviera Wanderers’ by Maurice Beck and Helen Macgregor, 1927 © reserved; collection National Portrait Gallery, London; The Second Age of Beauty by Cecil Beaton, British Vogue February 1946 © The Condé Nast Publications Ltd. Condé Nast Archive London.

This role will support the Senior Registrar in managing the daily logistics of incoming and outgoing stock for the gallery and archive. This role is vital to the smooth operation of the gallery and involves the general upkeep of both the gallery and the archive.

The Michael Hoppen Gallery opened in 1992 and is founded on a passion for photography. As a gallery we are renowned for nurturing the careers of new and interesting artists and exhibiting them alongside acknowledged nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first century photographic masters.

Details: https://www.artsjobs.org.uk/jobs/51794

The Bodleian has launched a call for its annual visiting Fellowships. Bodleian Visiting Fellowships in Special Collections are awarded to promote research based on archival, manuscript, and printed books collections of the Bodleian Libraries. Researchers external to the University of Oxford are invited to pursue their own research projects requiring use of these collections. Visiting Fellows may be invited during their visits to present their work in progress formally or informally within the University or in the Bodleian Libraries and should consider publication of their findings in the Bodleian Library Record.

Although the Sloan Fellowship in Photography is not being offered this year other categories will be of interest to photographic historians and artists.

The Sloan Fellows for 2024/25 are: 

Sloan Fellow in Photography: Hilary 2025: Beth Saunders, Curator and Head of Special Collections & Gallery, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; ‘Enmeshed: Lace and Women’s Labor in Julia Herschel’s A Handbook for Greek and Roman Lace Making (1870)’

Sloan Photographic Arts Fellow, Michaelmas 2024: Adrian Paul Tyler, Photographer and book maker; ‘Book Wreck’

Details of past Sloan Fellows are here: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships/awarded-fellowships

Details of the current call and categories are here: https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowships/bodleian-visiting-fellowships 

The Department of History at the University of Nottingham is seeking a Research Associate/ Fellow in Photographic History (with a particular focus on colonial Southeast Asia). The purpose of this role is to work on the AHRC-funded project ‘Resettling the Colonial Lens: Photography and the (Re)Making of Malaysia’s New Villages’. This is 3-year, multidisciplinary and transnational project which aims to respond to the following question: What role has photography as a medium played in documenting, critiquing and re-writing the history of resettlement in late-colonial Malaya? Photography was a key medium through which the colonial state sought to document the Malayan Emergency (1948–60). This was particularly so for resettlement. Under this counterinsurgency scheme, almost half a million rural residents of colonial Malaya were moved into hundreds of resettlement camps – later re-labelled ‘New Villages’ (NVs) – in an attempt to undermine support for the Malayan Communist Party (MCP). The ‘Resettling the Colonial Lens’ Project explores not just the way in which photography was used to document resettlement, but also how it is being used today to re-imagine and rewrite histories of resettlement in Malaysia.

The successful applicant must have a PhD (or close to completion) or equivalent in photographic history or related fields. They must have experience of working with/on historical photographs, particularly those relating to colonial Southeast Asia (especially Malaya/Malaysia). They must have excellent oral and written communication skills (and be fluent in English). They must also have the ability to work well to deadlines and to manage administrative demands efficiently.

We warmly welcome applications from under-represented groups, regardless of gender, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, age, socio-economic background, disability, religious or political beliefs, trade union membership, family circumstances, sexual orientation or other irrelevant distinction. We have an Athena Swan Bronze Award recognising good practice towards the advancement of gender equality in our school.

Shortlisting is anonymous. We cannot see any personal data or the ‘Additional Information’ section in your application until shortlisting is completed. Shortlisting is by criteria-based questions based on the role specification, rather than CV or letter. 

The post is offered on a fixed-term contract until 31 December 2027, post commencing on 1 January 2025 or as soon thereafter. Hours of work are full-time (36.25 hours per week). Job share arrangements may be considered. The candidate will be expected to attend scheduled online and in-person meetings and events with relevant parties in the Nottingham area, though extended periods of research will also be undertaken in London and elsewhere.

Details: https://jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=ARTS439224

As part of Headstone Manor and Museum's current exhibition Lights Camera Kodak which runs until 30 November Dr Michael Pritchard will look at the history and development of the camera from its origins in the early 1880s to the advent of digital cameras from the 1990s, with a particular emphasis on those made by Eastman Kodak Co from 1888 and Kodak Ltd in the United Kingdom. Many of those Kodak cameras were landmarks in the history of the camera and amateur photography such as the Brownie and Instamatic cameras, but Kodak also made cameras for professional photographers and for specialist purposes. It is perhaps for its amateur cameras – that most of us or our families will have used – and these came in many shapes, sizes and colours, and influenced by industrial designers such as Kenneth Grange.

The talk will be heavily illustrated and will also explore how the cameras were sold to snapshotters and amateurs, and how Kodak targeted specific markets such as women and children. It will rekindle memories of past cameras and the types of pictures that we used to take with them, and you are encouraged to bring your own Kodak and other cameras along for comment!

Kodak Cameras – A Journey Through the Lens of Time
Tuesday 12th November, 2pm – 3pm
Live only, £3, booking required
The Granary, Headstone Manor Museum, Pinner View, Harrow, HA2 6PX
Details: https://headstonemanor.org/events/tuesday-talk-kodak-cameras-a-journey-through-the-lens-of-time/

Information on the exhibition can be found here: https://headstonemanor.org/events/lights-camera-kodak/

Photo: Kodak Brownie 127 / Michael Pritchard

Richard Ovenden, Bodley's librarian, has reported the gift of the earliest image of the Radcliffe Observatory, now ⁦Green Templeton College, to the photography collections at the Bodleian Library. The image is a paper negative by William Henry Fox Talbot, from 1842.

The negative is shown in The William Henry Fox Talbot catalogue raisonné as Schaaf 2675, date inscribed in pencil, in Talbot's hand, verso, 29 July/42 [29 July 1842]. See: https://talbot.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/search/catalog/artifact-5183

The main call for papers has now closed with seventy proposals received. As this is a global event for International Womens Day 2025 the organisers are still open for proposals from scholars or academics from under-represented areas of Asia, both East and South, and Africa, or papers dealing with photography, by or of women, from those areas. 

Use the link on the original call: 

https://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cfp-women-in-photography-celebrating-international-women-s-day-20

Visit the Library for a spooktacular collection encounter featuring spirits, ghosts, auras and ectoplasm. Seeing is believing…. Join Tony Richards and Jamie Robinson from the library's imaging team to discuss the late Victorian craze of spirit and supernatural photography including books and photographic examples from our collections. Drop in to the Historic Reading Room for this free event.

This close up encounter may not be suitable for children, viewer discretion is advised.

Spirit and supernatural photography
With Tony Richards and Jamie Robinson
31 October 2024 from 1400-1600
Reading Room, John Rylands Library, Manchester
Free, drop in
https://events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:zwt-m23alq0v-uv9dzy

This lecture takes as a case study the Czechoslovak surrealist group, formed in 1934 and still active to this day in Prague, through the lens of its distinctive tradition of surrealist documentary photography as a tool to reflect and critique its geographic and historical contexts.

A long-time specialist in the history, theory and practices of the international surrealist movement, Krzysztof Fijałkowski is Professor of Visual Culture and senior lecturer on the BA Fine Art programme, Norwich University of the Arts.

Organised by Professor Gavin Parkinson (Professor in European Modernism, The Courtauld) as part of the 2024-25 Frank Davis Memorial Lecture Series, ‘A Century of Surrealism: Resistance and the Image Since the Manifesto of Surrealism’.

Surrealism / Surrealismus: Documentary photography and the conditions of Czechoslovak surrealism 1934-1959
Krzysztof Fijałkowski
Tuesday 15 October 2024, 17:30 - 19:00
London: The Courtauld, Vernon Square Campus, Lecture Theatre 2
Free but booking required - book here

Image: Jindřich Štyrský, untitled, 1930s. Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague.

The Centre for British Photography is seeking a Director of Development and Strategy. Established in 2020, the Centre (UK registered charity no. 1190955) presents an expansive overview of the diversity of photographic practices in Britain from a range of voices past and present. Its mission is to support all kinds of photographic practices in Britain and to provide platforms for these contributions that are educational, inclusive and inspiring for the benefit of all audiences. It has a particular focus on supporting the practices of women and emerging artists working in photography. It accomplishes these aims through community engagement, mentoring, grants, educational resources, exhibitions and events.

We are looking for a dynamic Director of Development and Strategy who will be critical to the delivery of Centre for British Photography’s mission and vision. The Director of Development and Strategy will work closely with the Founding Director and other Trustees in all aspects of strategic planning, with the specific responsibility of advancing the charity’s mission and fundraising for CBP’s permanent home.

The successful candidate will be an effective face-to-face fundraiser with extensive experience in securing high value donations and managing the full lifecycle of significant donor relationships across corporate, foundation, private and public sectors. You will have up-to-date knowledge of best fundraising and regulatory practices. As an advocate, you will be committed to the charity’s mission, vision and values; interested in and passionate about shaping the future of a young charity; and play a pivotal role in the development and execution of its fundraising strategy. Experience with CRMs a plus.

At present, the charity does not have a physical space; initially this role is a hybrid one where the successful candidate will WFH and attend meetings and events in Greater London area. The role’s emphasis is to build the charity and secure the funding for a permanent space.

Director of Development and Strategy
Full-time (35 hours/week), Permanent role
Hybrid ways of working as the role allows
£34,000 - £40,000 per annum, dependent on experience
Application deadline: 12pm (midday) on Friday 1 November 2024
Details: https://britishphotography.org/news/161-we-re-hiring-director-of-development-and-strategy/

Identify and Care for Your Photographic Collections, is a hands-on workshop designed to assist community archivists and enthusiasts in learning how to identify, care for, and preserve photographic materials. Hosted at Cupar Library, the workshop features experts from the University of St Andrews, including Laura Brown, the Curator of Photography, and Erica Kotze, an accredited conservator with over 20 years of experience.

Participants will gain practical knowledge on recognizing various photographic techniques, from historical to modern-day prints, and learn essential skills in handling, storing, and exhibiting photographic collections.

Morning Session:
Led by Laura Brown, participants will learn how to:
Identify different photographic techniques, ranging from early Daguerreotypes to modern colour gelatine prints, as well as negatives on both glass and plastic film.
Examine and handle photographs using practical tools like microscopes and torches.
Engage in a hands-on approach to identifying materials in photographic collections.

Afternoon Session:
Erica Kotze will cover:
Care and storage methods for photographic collections.
Basic conservation techniques.
Considerations for exhibiting photographs, including best practices for display.

What You Will Gain

• A foundational understanding of different photographic materials and how to handle them.
• Practical tips on how to store and preserve photographs safely.
• Insights into exhibiting and sharing photographic collections with the public.
• A certificate of achievement supported by SCA, CAHG, ARA & ICON.

The workshop is an excellent opportunity for those with no prior experience, especially for volunteers or groups working in community archives. If the workshop reaches capacity, it may be held again in early 2025.

Identify and Care for Your Photographic Collections
Wednesday, 30 October 2024
Cupar Library, Crossgate, Cupar, KY15 5AS

Details: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/identify-and-care-for-your-photographic-collections-tickets-1021733551557