The Narrator’s Gaze, Fifty years of Documentary Photography

[Michael Pritchard]

The National Coal Mining Museum for England will be hosting a symposium, entitled ‘The Narrator’s Gaze, fifty years of documentary photography’, on Friday 26 March 2010, from 10.30am until 4.30pm. The event is being held in association with the new special exhibition, ‘Northern Soul, John Bulmer’s images of life and Times in the 1960s’.

A pioneer of colour photography during the 1960s, Bulmer’s work was included in the very first colour supplement launched by The Sunday Times. Inspired by The Times Special Issue entitled ‘The North’, the exhibition includes work specially reprinted from this influential story.

The conference celebrates fifty years since Bulmer first began recording England’s industrial heritage and will be chaired by Colin Harding, the Curator of Photographic Technology at the National Media Museum. The keynote speakers, whose work spans each of the last five decades, include John Bulmer, Homer Sykes, Martin Jenkinson, Ian Beesley, and Moira Lovell.

The event is being held in association with the University of Bolton and Gallery Oldham. A second symposium linked to Gallery Oldham’s forthcoming photography exhibition, ‘The North South Divide’, will be taking place at the Gallery Oldham on 15 May 2010.

Tickets for ‘The Narrator’s Gaze, fifty years of documentary photography’ are on sale now at £15.00 each; concessions are available on request. The tickets price includes refreshments as well as a tour of the exhibition. A reduced rate is available for delegates attending both events. For more information or to book tickets, please contact the Museum’s Booking Officer on 01924 848 806 or visit the Museum’s website www.ncm.org.uk