Blogs

Are you a Royal Photographic Society member?  Did you take first take photographs as a child or a teenager? Would you be happy to share your childhood memories and experiences with a researcher?

Annebella Pollen, Professor of Visual and Material Culture at University of Brighton, is conducting research about the history of photography by children, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, for a new book and exhibition.

If you would like to participate in this research by sharing your stories and perspectives, and perhaps also your photographs, please follow this link for more information, including a questionnaire and a consent form. 

https://brighton.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/rps-questionnaire-childhood-and-photography-memories-an-2

The announcement of photography’s invention in January 1839 introduced a ‘new power’ into British life that was soon exploited by those interested in commerce, science, culture, journalism and art. This day-long symposium considers how the first fifty years of photography in Britain intersected with the nation’s growing modernity, revealing photography’s crucial role in making Britain the society it is today.

A New Power: The symposium
Saturday 18 March 2023, 9.30am–5.40pm
Oxford: Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre, Weston Library
Free event, limited seating, booking required
Details and programme are here: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/mar23/a-new-power-symposium

Autograph is looking for an experienced curator to work on their contemporary exhibition programme which focuses strongly on photographic practice and to take lead responsibility for project managing touring and collection loans in the UK and abroad.

Based at Rivington Place, in Shoreditch, London which houses their two public project spaces, small scale screening facilities, a learning studio and their specialist photographic collection, you will:

• Develop and deliver selected aspects of Autograph’s artistic programme (which includes: exhibitions, publications, commissions, residencies, collection projects and digital programmes) taking lead responsibility for touring and loans.
• Provide logistical support coordinating and implementing all practical aspects of programming across exhibitions, UK and international touring, publications and projects on and off site.
• Assist with the development and promotion of Autograph’s photography collection.
• Contribute to an integrated, thematic approach to all programming with learning and engagement, digital engagement  and audience development colleagues.

You will work alongside one other Curator who leads on commissions and residencies to deliver Autograph's exhibition programme at their galleries in Rivington Place, and in a variety of other settings.

Autograph is looking for someone who identifies strongly with their values and mission, has extensive knowledge of contemporary exhibition practice and a particular interest in curating photography. You will need to be a strong communicator and an excellent project manager who is comfortable working with a wide range of partners, artists and interest groups, to deliver the responsibilities set out in this role.

To tie in with the Wilson Art Gallery and Museum's exhibition, Clear of People, is a symposium that explores artist perspectives on the consequences of military conflict in Eastern Europe. The event brings together a panel of acclaimed artists and academics who will discuss their work and research, including first-hand accounts of how artists are continuing to make work amidst the conflict in Ukraine.

Presentations come from from Michal Iwanowski (artist and Lecturer in Photography at Cardiff Metropolitan University), Claudia Heinermann (artist) and Anastasiya Afonina (Lecturer at Lviv Academy of Art), followed by a panel discussion chaired by Dr. Tom Allbeson (Senior Lecturer in Media History, School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University). Through their work the speakers will draw on archival and personal accounts of both historical and present-day conflicts, giving voice to individuals and communities that have been impacted by war across generations.

Supported by Cardiff Metropolitan University and the Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, this event is part of the closing weekend of the exhibition, Clear of People, by Michal Iwanowski.

Symposium: It’s Personal: Artist Perspectives on the Consequences of Military Conflict
4 February 2023 from 1045-1530
The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum
Clarence Street
Cheltenham
GL50 3JT

Details of the event and exhibition are here: http://www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk/event/its-personal-artist-perspectives-on-the-consequences-of-military-conflict/

Since its inception, photography has been used by the heritage sector to document and disseminate its historical and cultural assets with the aim of furthering study and enhancing scholarship. With the digital age comes new imaging technologies and methods such as multispectral imaging (MSI), reflectance transformation imaging (RTI) and photogrammetry or 3D imaging .

This lecture will consider these new technologies and their practical uses within the heritage sector and explore how they have been influenced directly from the ideas of early photographic pioneers such as Henry Fox Talbot and Sir John Herschel, to inform the work of exploratory technical researchers Hewlett Packard and NASA. It will draw on specific examples from the archives of the John Rylands Research Institute and Library (JRRIL) and the leading-edge technologies utilised by its Imaging Team.

Tony Richards is Senior Photographer at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library, University of Manchester. He is currently the lead photographer for advanced imaging techniques. The JRRIL Imaging Team are at the forefront of supporting Digital Scholarship through the use of these advanced imaging techniques to inspire and support further research of Special Collections Library material. Tony is also a practitioner of historic photographic processes and is interested in how current digital methods influence his historical practice.​

Free: book here: https://events.rps.org/4LrdQ66/5a2N4L6Zyb9

The Wilson Bentley photographs of snowflakes held at the Natural History Museum have been digitised. An album of 355 of the original prints dating from 1885, by the man who came to be known as Snowflake Bentley was bought by London’s Natural History Museum in 1899, and the collection has now been digitised and made available to view online.

Details here: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jan/04/snowflake-bentleys-19th-century-images-of-snow-crystals-put-online

View online: https://nhm.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?context=L&vid=44NHM_INST:44NHM_V1&docid=alma9915394302081

The annual Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards celebrate excellence in photography and moving image publishing. They recognise individuals who have made an outstanding or original contribution to the literature, art or practice of photography or the moving image. Two winning titles are selected: one in the field of photography and one in the field of the moving image. The author/s or editor/s of each winning book receive a £5,000 cash prize.

Submissions are welcome from publishers, authors, collectives and individuals self-publishing their work. There is no entry fee.

Details: https://kraszna-krausz.org.uk/book-awards/

The National Gallery is seeking a skilled Photographic Archive Assistant for 18 months to work on a large-scale project to digitise and audit Collection material in the National Gallery’s Photographic Archive. The project is delivered as part of the gallery’s Digital Dossier Programme (DDP), an ambitious research infrastructure and knowledge-enabling change programme that aims to make ‘everything we know about our pictures available to everyone’. 

Details: https://nationalgalleryjobs.ciphr-irecruit.com/templates/CIPHR/jobdetail_1651.aspx

The Curator of Astronomical Photographs, reporting to the Executive Director of the Harvard College Observatory, provides vision, leadership, advocacy, interpretation, and passion for the Observatory’s Astronomical Photographic Glass Plate Collection (Glass Plates). The Curator also serves as catalyst and coordinator of activities dedicated to connecting faculty, students, and an international community of scientists and researchers, to the Glass Plates to advance their scholarship and the mission of the HCO. The Curator will support conservation activities and advise on both short term and long term plans pertaining to stewardship of the Glass Plates. The Curator will be responsible for overseeing the work of LHTs and possibly Curatorial Assistants undertaking both physical and digital projects and will execute administrative tasks associated with daily operations of the Observatory Plate Stacks. 

The Curator will have enthusiasm and demonstrated ability in sharing and interpreting the Glass Plates for teaching purposes, in digital contexts, in publications, and through exhibitions and programming. The Curator will be adept in communicating the value and contemporary relevance of astronomical photography to experts and general audiences.  

The successful candidate will understand and appreciate the history of astronomy, particularly as it relates to optical observation methods and the roles that gender and care work have played in advancing the field; the ability to master over time all aspects of Glass Plate stewardship; enthusiasm for working with faculty and students; a proclivity for adopting new technologies and methods that will improve access to and use of the Glass Plates; and a collaborative and collegial outlook.

For more information see the full job posting:

https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/home/HomeWithPreLoad?partnerid=25240&siteid=5341&PageType=JobDetails&jobid=1980489

The V&A has announced that the second and final phase of the V&A’s Photography Centre will open 25 May 2023. Once open, the Photography Centre will become the largest space in the UK for a permanent photography collection, and the seven galleries – four of which will be new additions – will showcase the museum’s world-leading holdings and enable visitors to experience photography and its diverse histories in new ways. Phase One, Galleries 99 and 100, opened in 2018. 

The V&A has collected and exhibited photography since the founding of the museum in the 1850s, and today its collection is one of the largest and most varied in the world. Phase One of the museum’s Photography Centre opened in 2018, with three galleries designed by David Kohn. May 2023 sees the completion of the second and final phase of the Photography Centre with an additional four galleries, with base-build designed by Purcell, and fit-out designed by Gibson Thornley Architects.

Two of the new rooms will showcase global contemporary photography and cutting-edge commissions in rotating displays. The other new spaces – a room dedicated to photography and the book, and an interactive gallery about the history and use of the camera – will shine a light on the processes involved in photography, as well as the study and presentation of the medium. These new rooms join the three existing galleries, with two galleries for changing displays from the collection and a space dedicated to digital media, which will also present new content.

Highlights of the opening displays will include recent acquisitions exhibited at the museum for the first time, including works by Liz Johnson Artur, Sammy Baloji, Vera Lutter, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Tarrah Krajnak and Vasantha Yogananthan, as well as a monumental photographic sculpture by Noémie Goudal.  Two major new commissions supported by the Manitou Fund will also be unveiled, with a photographic series by leading Indian artist Gauri Gill, and a digital commission by British media artist Jake Elwes. The Manitou Fund has committed to funding six commissions for the Photography Centre, which will see a new print and digital commission in 2023, 2025 and 2027. On completion, the Photography Centre will also feature new, themed displays, presenting works from the 1840s to the present day, beginning with Energy: Sparks from the Collection, exploring how all photographs need some form of energy to exist, and a smaller display, How Not to Photograph a Bulldog, featuring dog photography manuals from the Royal Photographic Society Library. 

Marta Weiss, V&A Senior Curator of Photography and Lead Curator of Phase Two of the Photography Centre, said: “Photography lies at the heart of the V&A. The museum has collected photography since 1852 and continues to acquire the best of contemporary practice. As photography plays an ever-increasing role in all our lives, the expanded Photography Centre will be more relevant than ever. We look forward to welcoming visitors to explore the medium’s diverse histories and enjoy our world-leading collection.”

About the Photography Centre:

 Room 95

Inside the Camera

Room 95 will be an interactive gallery exploring how cameras work and how they are used, from the Victorian view camera to the first iPhone. The highlight will be a walk-in camera obscura, demonstrating the optical phenomenon that is the basis of how all cameras work. A timeline of cameras will show their evolution, with accompanying animations explaining the inner workings of these iconic devices.

Room 96

Room 97, The Parasol Foundation Gallery

Photography Now

Two new galleries will be dedicated to showcasing recent acquisitions of global contemporary photography, including special commissions. Highlights in the inaugural display will include works by Liz Johnson Artur, Sammy Baloji, Vera Lutter, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, and Vasantha Yogananthan, all acquired with the support of the V&A Photographs Acquisition Group. A series of self-portraits by Tarrah Krajnak, acquired with the support of The Parasol Foundation Trust, will also feature. A spectacular anamorphic sculpture by Noémie Goudal will bring photography off the wall to explore both geological time and the nature of perception.

A new commission, supported by the Manitou Fund, from leading Indian photographer Gauri Gill will also be unveiled. This new body of work depicts temporary architecture on the outskirts of Delhi, ingenuously constructed by farmers from repurposed materials. The makeshift dwellings housed farmers bringing their concerns from the village to the capital, in response to new laws that threatened their economic security.

 Room 98, The Kusuma Gallery

Photography and the Book

A flexible space dedicated to Photography and the Book will reflect how books have been a fundamental way of presenting photography since the 1840s. The Kusuma Gallery, which has been funded by The Kusuma Trust, will visibly house the extensive Royal Photographic Society (RPS) Library, following the transfer of the RPS Collection to the V&A in 2017. The RPS Library contains journals, books, pamphlets and manuals from all over the world, spanning topics from aerial photography to X-rays. More than 20,000 books, published over nearly 200 years, will be available to visitors by request, with a selection of browsing books on open shelves.

The Kusuma Gallery will also feature changing displays of photographic books, periodicals and archival material.  The first display will be How Not to Photograph a Bulldog, a light-hearted foray into one of the many topics covered by the photographic manuals in the RPS Library.

Films about the RPS Library and photographic processes will be shown on digital terminals for visitors to enjoy. This flexible space will also be used for teaching and other programming. 

 Room 99, The Modern Media Gallery

Digital Gallery

One of the three Phase One galleries, The Modern Media Gallery continues to be dedicated to digital media, challenging definitions of what photography is and generating questions around the use of photography today. The gallery will showcase a new digital commission by Jake Elwes, supported by the Manitou Fund.

Room 100, The Bern and Ronny Schwartz Gallery

Room 101, The Sir Elton John and David Furnish Gallery

Photography 1840s-Now

Developed during Phase One of the Photography Centre, these galleries will be entirely rehung for the 2023 opening. A new display, Energy: Sparks from the Collection, will explore the diverse kinds of energy in photography – both the hidden processes intrinsic to creating a picture, and the subjects in front of a camera. Featuring works from the 1840s through to the present day, it will demonstrate how, from the advent of photography, power in all its diverse forms has sparked the imaginations of photographers.

Situated in the V&A’s Northeast Quarter, the Photography Centre reclaims the beauty of seven original 19th-century picture galleries, restoring them to their original glory and purpose. Planned in two phases, the Centre is part of the V&A’s FuturePlan development programme to revitalise the museum’s public spaces through contemporary design and the restoration of original features.

Beyond the physical gallery spaces, a key focus for photography at the V&A is research and the development of new sector-leading initiatives. A major strand is The Parasol Foundation Women in Photography Project, established in 2021 to support women in photography. Led by the inaugural Parasol Foundation Curator of Women in Photography, Fiona Rogers, and funded by Ms. Ruth Monicka Parasol and The Parasol Foundation Trust, the Project encompasses a curatorial post alongside acquisitions, research, education and public displays. The Project’s first acquisition by Tarrah Krajnak will be included in the opening display at the V&A. Also in May 2023, five winners of the inaugural V&A Parasol Foundation Prize for Women in Photography will be exhibited at Peckham 24 – south London’s vibrant three-day contemporary photography festival. The prize is dedicated to supporting and championing the work of women in contemporary photography and will run for three years.

The V&A is also delighted to announce additional support from The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation. Alongside significant funding of Phase Two of the Photography Centre, the Foundation has generously extended their commitment to a series of two-year Fellowships in photography for early-career curators until 2028. The V&A is pleased to announce the appointment of Mary Phan as the second Curatorial Fellow in Photography, supported by The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation, who will be in post until 2024.

The Photography Centre is being made possible by Sir Elton John and David Furnish, The Kusuma Trust, The Bern Schwartz Family Foundation, The Parasol Foundation Trust, Modern Media, Shao Zhong Art Foundation and many other generous supporters.

I'm researching the Derby Master Class project.  Initiated by Nigel Trow at the Derbyshire College of Higher Education in 1975/76 it brought a number of internationally recognised photographers to the course at the institution.  It ran for several years as a very distinctive feature of the course before gradually reverting to a more recognisable Visiting Artist programme.  I have the archive materials assembled by Richard Sadler, who taught at Derby through the period (courtesy of his Estate) and hope to publish a small monograph on the subject.

In addition I have other materials, catalogues, pamphlets, magazines and cuttings on a range of photographic activities relating to the late seventies and eighties that I'd happily pass on to anyone conducting research into the period.  If you are interested I will shortly post the listings of what is available.

Regarding the Master Class programme - if you were involved, as staff, student, or otherwise I'd be interested in making contact.

Image: Minor White, portrait by Richard Sadler, taken Nov. 1975 at Derby Master Class, Derbyshire College Of HE.