Webinar: Socially Engaged Photography

22 May / 5 – 7 pm / online, free

Do you make work that is driven by your engagement in social, political, economic, or environmental issues? Is the process often as important as the result? Are your projects often reliant on collaboration and discussion? Are there elements of co-production in you practice? Or are you just curious about this type of practice and the opportunities available?

In this webinar by Preus Museum and Open Eye Gallery one selected artist from Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden will present their practice and discuss their experiences. You will also be introduced to Liz Wewiora from SEPN which is the national network for socially engaged photography in the UK and get to meet one of their over 500 members.

The aim of the meeting is to look get acquainted and look at the opportunities and challenges socially engaged photographers working in the Nordic region are faced with. We will also discuss whether we should establish a network to share our experiences and stimulate more collaboration in the future.

Programme

18.00 CET – Welcome – introduction of topic, participants and institutions

18.10 CET – Artist presentations

19.00 CET – Presentation of SEPN and artist from the UK

19.30 CET – Panel discussion

20.00 CET – Questions from the audience

20.20 CET – Closing remarks

Participating artists:

Denmark: Tina Enghoff

Finland: Joel Karppanen

Norway: Yamile Calderon

Sweden: Jasmin Daryani

UK: Ciara Leeming

UK: Liz Wewiora

Participating organisations:

Denmark: Fotografisk Center

Finland: Hippolyte

Sweden: Centrum for Fotografi

Norway: Preus museum

UK: SEPN (Socially Engaged Photography Network)

About socially engaged photography:

As millions of us share our daily lives via photography on social media, it can be interesting to put the expertise of the photographer together with the lived experience and knowledge of communities.

The term socially engaged photography, often refers to activities or projects where photographers and communities/individuals come together to co-author or co-produce visual representations of the world around us. The process behind the work produced is often as important as the final photographic work, and projects are often reliant on collaboration and discussion. The work often reflects multiple voices about a particular social, political, economic or environmental issue, rather than that of a single artistic voice.

What can a potential network provide?

The wider term, socially engaged practice is itself, constantly being challenged and redefined. A network can apply these current debates to the context of our own photographic specialism. It is important to note that each organisation and individual will navigate the process of co-authored work in different ways; a network can however demonstrate this diversity of practice whilst providing a stable grounding for social practice. A network can stimulate more collaboration through the sharing of resources, learning. It can also provide dissemination of current projects and practitioners, as well as create dialogue and debate about the work within this field.

Images: Rob Battersby