Plans scaled back? Media Space and Photographers' Gallery

[Michael Pritchard]

The Observer and Guardian's photography commentator Sean O'Hagan reports on a scaling back of plans for London's Photographers' Gallery and the National Media Museum's Media Space, due to the difficulty of raising funds in the current economic climate. See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/nov/01/london-photographic-spaces-photographers-gallery?newsfeed=true  The Photographers' Gallery budget was scaled back from £15.5 million in 2009 to £8.7 million and Media Space has yet to secure the projected £8.7million it needs and has also changed its vision for the space.

Elsewhere in Britain the re-opening of the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool is a sign of activity outside of the capital. O'Hagan's weekend piece in the Observer (reported here: http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/britain-s-leading-photography-galleries-together) was criticised in the blogosphere for its London-centric perspective, unfair perhaps when his  focus was on four London based curators and their spaces. That said, there is plenty happening outside of London that is equally worthy of celebration.     

[Donald Stewart]

Michael - I thought members might like to know of a new space/gallery which opened this weekend.  It is called FOTOSPACE and is in the Rothes Halls at Glenrothes which is definitely not in London.  The plan is to have regularly changing exhibitions, each lasting for about 6 weeks, showing the best of contemporary photographic practice, Scottish when available.  We, Fife Foto Group already have a varied programme in place for most of the coming year. Visitors to the gallery are most welcome and for more details please see our website.  So there is life photographic, as we know, outside the Big Smoke.   Donald.