The Photographers' Gallery, London, is to close this Autumn 2010 as construction starts on the transformation of the Gallery's building on Ramillies Street, London. The conversion by architects O'Donnell+ Tuomey will create:

• Three floors of galleries
• A floor dedicated to learning for all
• An improved Bookshop and Print Sales space
• A brand new street level Café/Bar
• An accessible building with a new lift

Although the building will be closed, the Gallery will continue to present projects, talks and events in Central London, as well as working with schools and young people. The Bookshop and Print Sales teams will continue to operate over this year.

For news and regular updates join our email newsletter, the Gallery can be followed on Facebook.To find out how you can support this ambitious project contact the Development Team on campaign@photonet.org.uk, +44 (0)20 7087 9340.

Click here for more: http://www.photonet.org.uk/index.php?pid=411

The British Library's most visited temporary exhibition during 2009-10 was Points of View which attracted 108,989 visitors and surpassed, by far, the Henry VIII exhibtion. Points of View: Capturing the 19th Century in Photographs was the British Library’s first major photographic exhibition and examined the development and influence of photography from its invention in 1839 up to the growth of a popular amateur market in the early 20th century. It showed rarely displayed items from the collection and explored how photography had assumed a critical role as the primary means of visual expression. The show was curated by John Falconer.

Award winning, visionary and truly unique, the National Media Museum embraces photography, film, television, radio and the web. Part of the NMSI family of museums, we aim to engage, inspire and educate through comprehensive collections, innovative education programmes and a powerful yet sensitive approach to contemporary issues.

Audience Researcher – Internet Gallery Project
Bradford
£17,500 - £18,500

It’s vital to the continued success of the organisation that our exhibitions, websites, programmes and products are appealing to as wide an audience as possible; and that our continued development is always done in an audience centred and customer focused way. This is why this role is vital, ensuring that through thorough research techniques, audience feedback and comprehensive reporting, we understand the direction we need to go, what we do right and possibly wrong. Reporting to the Senior Audience Researcher based at the Science Museum, we need a team player with proven research skills in data collection, analysis, interpretation, report creation and presentation. An appreciation of new media would be an advantage as would experience gained within an audience-focused and/or learning environment. The pace is fast. You need to be able to work independently, display excellent communication skills and have a passion for your subject. Overall, this is an exciting role for a talented research professional who wants to make a deep and lasting contribution to a very popular national ‘iconic’ visitor experience.

The National Museum of Science and Industry - the parent body of the National Media Museum - is to be retained by government 'on grounds of performing a technical function which should remain independent from Government'. Its role was being reconsidered as part of the government review of all quangos. The level of the funding cuts is due to be announced next week.

The Cabinet Office notice is here.

The Yorkshire Post reports that there is increasing speculation that the the National Media Museum may have to start charging admission. It reports that: The organisation which runs York's National Railway Museum and Bradford's National Media Museum is also "planning for a range of scenarios" and has refused to rule out changes to opening times as it waits to find out how badly the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) budget is cut in the Comprehensive Spending Review.

Institutions categorised as national museums – which includes the National Coal Mining Museum, National Railway Museum, National Media Museum and the Royal Armouries in Yorkshire – offer free admission, and Ministers have been keen to insist that will continue.

They receive grants directly from Government but DCMS officials have written to them enquiring about the possible impact of funding cuts of 25 to 30 per cent.

The department itself is threatened with cuts of up to 40 per cent.

Read the full story here.

Academic Assistant - Photographic Collection (1 year). The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London University of London http://jobs.ac.uk/job/ABH740/

Amateur Photographer magazine reports that the National Media Museum has received government approval to open a London base. A spokesperson for the Bradford-based museum said this afternoon: 'We have received approval from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) for this project.'

Last night, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt told the BBC's Newsnight that 'none' of the DCMS's budgets are protected in light of the cutbacks expected to be outlined by the new Government.

Asked whether the museum is concerned that any cutbacks may scupper the London plan, the spokesperson told us: 'We are continuing to follow our fundraising strategy which is not reliant on Government funding, so be assured we will be in touch as and when it's appropriate.'

Read the report here: http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/news/Government_approves_photography_museums_London_plan_news_297963.html

A Freedom of Information request by JIm Bretell to the National Museum of Science and Industry has thrown light on the NMeM's plans for its London presence - although the NMSI declined to make available the 'substantial' documentation that the project has generated. In a token gesture it has published a partially redacted section of the NMSI Trustee minutes of 8 February 2008 these show:

• the aim of the London presence is to raise the national and international profile of the NMeM and to draw people to Bradford
• the space would be occupied by charging exhibitions with free entry to a media cafe. It would also act as a learning space
• the space could also be used to show photographic images from the National Railway Museum collection
• The funding plan would commence when at least 50 per cent was committed

The running cost and break-even number of visitors was dedacted.

The extract can be viewed here: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/38445/response/99877/attach/3/donotreply%20nmsi.ac.uk%2020100713%20164649.pdf

and details of the original request and MNSI covering letter here: http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/national_media_museum_possible_l#incoming-99877

A wealth of vital information about the early days of photography could be unearthed by a computer program which mimics human decision-making. De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) has amassed a collection of hundreds of exhibition catalogues containing invaluable information about individual photographs but the images themselves are missing as the catalogues were printed before the technology existed to reproduce pictures alongside the descriptions.

DMU’s Professor Stephen Brown and Professor Robert John are investigating a form of computational intelligence known as fuzzy logic to see if it is possible to match these catalogue entries with photographs in online collections owned by museums.

Professor Brown, of the Faculty of Art and Design, said: “Many of the photographs in question appear to have survived and are increasingly accessible online through museum and gallery web sites, however precise associations between particular exhibits and images are not always clear.”

Software using fuzzy logic is able to suggest possible connections based on vague information. It mimics the human approach to problem solving but arrives at a decision much more quickly than people do.

Uniting the catalogue records with their original photographs would provide researchers with an important primary resource.

Professor Stephen Brown said: “Photographic history research is important in a range of areas of study, including social, political, economical, scientific and architectural studies. “For example, Sir Benjamin Stone, who was MP for Birmingham, was a keen photographer and collector. He was able to photograph many leading scientists, politicians and dignitaries and significant historical and royal occasions – such as the funeral of Queen Victoria. He was one of the first people allowed to take photos in the Houses of Parliament and if not for him, we wouldn’t have pictures of many important visitors to Parliament during that time. The information we can gain from this project could be useful in so many ways. It could tell us about the types of people who were taking photos at that time, the subjects that were popular, the techniques that people used to develop their images, and how ideas were diffused through society.”

Professor Robert John, Head of the Centre for Computational Intelligence and a world-leading expert in fuzzy logic, said: “Using fuzzy logic will allow photographs to be analysed and compared with the catalogue information very quickly. “The benefits of this type of technology are that it can make decisions much more quickly than humans and it is not restricted to a simple ‘match’/’no match’ answer.”

In straightforward cases, photographs and catalogue information could be matched by name, title and other details, however, the majority of cases are more complicated. Professor Brown added: “Some of the records in the catalogues are rather vague. For instance, you might have the name, but the only address given is ‘London’. If a photograph is then found with the same name but the photographer’s address is given as ‘Blackheath’ then is that the same person? It could well be but further examination is needed. Some photos were exhibited more than once over different years, and that’s fine as long as the same details are recorded for both, but very often this isn’t the case. That’s why it’s not a simple matter of matching the details of photographer X and photograph Y.”

He added: “It wasn’t uncommon for a photographer to sell or loan prints to other people who then exhibit that work under their own name, not claiming to be the photographer, just the exhibitor. There might be a photo floating around online that is listed under the photographer’s name, while we only have the exhibitor’s details.

“We could get a group of photographic experts to examine the images and the catalogue entries in order to match them up, but it would take years and would be prohibitively expensive.”

Researchers will first carry out an exploratory study to investigate the potential of using fuzzy logic to match images with the descriptions in the catalogues. If it proves to be a success, researchers hope it will be extended to a full project which will see online photo collections from museums and galleries around the world scanned for possible matches.

DMU has two online collections of catalogue records from photographic exhibitions:

Photographic Exhibitions in Britain 1839 – 1865 – see http://peib.dmu.ac.uk
Exhibitions of the Royal Photographic Society 1870 – 1915 – see http://erps.dmu.ac.uk

The Victoria & Albert Museum's Photography Gallery's annual redisplay opens from 30 April 2010 and features many recent acquisitions. Accompanying this is The Other Britain Revisited: Photographs from New Society.

More here: www.vam.ac.uk/photography

The National Portrait Gallery's Camille Silvy exhibition opens this week on 15 July. For any BPH readers in London the NPG bookshop is already selling curator Mark Haworth-Booth's book and catalogue of the show along with other relevant books, poster, cards and souvenirs. As one would expect the book is a fascinating read with well-reproduced illustrations and excellent value at £20 (hardback only). The exhibition space itself remains hidden behind locked doors...

Details of the exhibition and associated lectures and events can be found here: http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2010/camille-silvy1.php Most of the events are free but are likely to be popular and you are advised to turn up early to ensure a place.

Amateur Photographer magazine reports that election rules mean that the National Media Museum is barred from saying whether it fears government cutbacks may scupper its plan to open a base in London.

The NMM, which is Britain's flagship photography museum, has yet to confirm whether it has been granted government funding for the project which is expected to see the creation of 1500m2 of exhibition galleries at a location in the capital yet to be named.

In the run up to the election it is not yet clear where precisely an incoming government will cut spending in order to tackle the huge budget deficit.

Asked whether any government cuts would delay or curtail the project altogether, a spokesman for the Bradford-based museum remained tight-lipped, telling us that it is bound by strict guidelines issued by the Cabinet Office during the election period.

He told Amateur Photographer: 'This means we cannot comment on anything that could be interpreted as making a political statement or relates to governance and financially related issues until after the election.'

See the full report here

Working closely with the Senior Project Manager, you’ll lead internal and external stakeholders to ensure major projects are completed on time and budget. Whether managing external supplier contracts, overseeing the CDM process or co-ordinating the delivery of work packages, you’ll inspire project teams to buy into our vision and deliver a great standard of work.

Coming from a similar role, you’ll already have experience of working with major funding bodies, managing budgets of £2million+ and complex stakeholder management. You’ll be a PRINCE2 qualified practitioner trained in NEBOSH and CDM too, with a good grasp of contract management, change management and risk management. If you can add the leadership, communication and interpersonal skills to manage a multi-disciplinary team, you’ll make a huge impact here.

The National Museum of Science and Industry aims to continually improve its cultural offering through exciting and ambitious projects, such as the Science Museum’s forthcoming climate science gallery, the creation of a dedicated Internet Gallery at the National Media Museum and NRM+, the multi-million pound regeneration of the National Railway Museum’s Great Hall. Based at the National Media Museum, you’ll manage the successful delivery of major projects like these across all our sites, helping us offer an even better experience to visitors.

The National Museum of Science and Industry is a respected family of museums, which includes the Science Museum in London and Swindon, the National Media Museum in Bradford and the National Railway Museum in York and Shildon. Together, we aim to become the most admired museum in the world.

To apply, please send your full CV and covering letter, clearly explaining how your skills and experience meet our requirements, to: recruitment@nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

We regret that we can only respond to successful applicants.

No agencies please.

More here: http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/job/987913/major-projects-manager?RSSSearch=0&gusrc=gu_jobs_box_Media&link=Media_jbx_vac&INTCMP=ILCJOBTXT259

Made at Lacock Abbey by William Henry Fox Talbot in August 1835, the world’s first photographic negative changed the world. A new exhibition, Celebrating the Negative launching on 3 July at the Fox Talbot Museum will display images by John Loengard, a highly acclaimed American photographer, who travelled the world during the 1990s visiting archives and photographers’ studios to see the original negatives of images that have changed photography and the world.

The images show the original negatives in the hands of the archivist or photographer which brings their scale into play and points up the fact that the negatives are objects as well as images.

The negative is not just another picture – it is THE picture. There is an intimate connection between the negative and the subject. Looking at a negative you are looking at an artefact of a time and place. The sun that shone on Abraham Lincoln on that day in 1863 was captured by that negative. All of the positive prints from that negative were made later, probably on a different day and by different sunlight and almost certainly not in the presence of Lincoln. Loengard says of Fox Talbot’s discovery: "It is a quirk of nature that silver and chlorine combine in the dark but separate when struck by light, leaving behind tiny, black, round particles of silver.

The 1st Negative

Talbot asked Lacock’s village carpenter to make up a few small wooden boxes to which he could insert his microscope lenses. These cameras, dubbed ‘Mousetraps’ by Talbot’s wife Constance, due to their size and shape, were the cameras through which he was finally able to capture an image.

On a sunny day in August, 1835 he aimed a mousetrap camera at the latticed window in the South Gallery of Lacock Abbey and in a few minutes he had made the world’s first photographic negative.

Three of the original ‘Mousetrap Cameras’ have been loaned to the museum by the National Media Museum. It is their first visit to their original home of Lacock Abbey in more than 75 years.

There will also be examples of the most important negative processes on display and an explanation of how they were made and how each was a technological advance in the history of photography. Roger Watson, curator of the Fox Talbot Museum says: "This is a really important and exciting celebration for us at Lacock. The negative is the primary image. It is the sensitive surface that faced the subject and first recorded the light. All positive prints are secondary images derived from the negative and are therefore one step removed from the original scene. The negative was the eye witness and the positive print the story related after the fact."

In August a recreation of the first photographic negative using Talbot’s original formula and methodology in a new mousetrap camera made by Mark Ellis, a carpenter who currently lives in Lacock will be re-enacted. Present at this re-enactment will be Talbot’s great-great granddaughter Janet Burnett Brown."

Participants at a (fully subscribed) workshop in August entitled ‘The Dawn of Photography’ will recreate all of Talbot’s earliest photographic experiments including working with modern replicas of the mousetrap camera. They will be working in and around Lacock Abbey and there will be staff members to answer questions about what they are doing.

Lacock Abbey

3 July-12 December 2010

The National Media Museum appears on a leaked list of public bodies under review for closure by the government. Incorrectly named as the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television the museum is directly funded by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport as part of the National Museum of Science and Industry. Other bodies which are under review include the National Archives and eighteen other museums and galleries in the UK. The British Library is to be retained.

The report is published here and the full leaked list published by the Daily Telegraph is here.

Mark Haworth-Booth describes on his blog..."An early copy of my book on Camille Silvy arrived from the National Portrait Gallery. We sat on the sofa and looked through every page. It is wonderful! I won't get my other copies until June. This is my finale as a photo-historian and I'm thrilled with it."

The Silvy exhibition will take place at the National Portrait Gallery later this year - it promises to be the exhibition of the year for me and many others...

Mark's blog here: http://markhaworthboothblog.blogspot.com/ is a joy to read...