I have just been appointed an AHRC Leadership Fellow from September 2018 through to late 2019, for a project centred on the work of Ilford Limited, and also looking at aspects of photographic culture between (roughly) 1914-1945. The grant funds the research but also aims to develop my research leadership skills and capacity, by providing masterclasses and workshops for colleagues and postgraduate students as well as funding an international conference in photography and film studies in 2019, on which I will work with my colleague Dr. Junko Theresa Mikuriya.
In the process I hope to engage with (in no particular order) industry participants, community groups academics, students, photographic practitioners, archivists, and museums who/which have expertise and/or interest in Ilford and this period of British photographic history. My own work is not a straightforwardly empirical project but places industrial photography history in the context of histories of the senses and cultural histories.
There are more details about the project on my blog and via my Twitter account @henningmc_ and via our research group account @ImageThinking . I am also offering talks, workshops etc. for PhD and MA students as part of the project. Obviously there is a limit to the number of these I can do, but let me know if this is something that may be of interest. I would also love to hear from anyone interested in participating in the conference in 2019, or engaging in discussion over issues related to this research. Obviously I am aware of the existing academic writing and publications on Ilford and this period, but please do let me know if you know of other archives or collections I might not know about.
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Thanks Ian, do let me know if there is any particular aspect you would like to know more about.
We read with great interest your blog regarding you forthcoming research project and look forward to hearing more about your findings in the future.
Thanks James! I will email you.
Many congratulations Michelle - great news. We are launching a Photography pathway on the V&A/RCA MA History of Design this year, so it would be great to hear more about your research and what you are thinking re: masterclasses for postgrads. As I'm sure you know, the RPS collection has great material of relevance to you. One of our MA students who graduated in the summer - Susan Harris - wrote her MA dissertation on British dry plate manufacturers, specifically on the role of packaging and graphic design. Conference plans sound interesting. best wishes, James. Do contact me directly if easier: j.ryan@vam.ac.uk