Photography has long been a mode of expression to document and action, share ideas and inspire change. Artists and collectives today are using the digital imagery to challenge and move beyond traditional protest photography to create change either for their environment, their community or for social justice. Female photographers and artists have been at the forefront of such campaigns, often being the agents of change within a community who foster a climate of collaboration and driving the need for change. The power of such collaborations and the societal impact opens our eyes to the issues raised and questions us to take action in whichever way we can.
Print with Conscience – The Gaia Foundation and ‘We Feed The UK’
This year Hahnemühle UK have co-sponsored ‘We Feed The UK’ a year-long exhibition programme supported by the The Gaia Foundation which brings together 10 acclaimed photographers to document the UK’s custodians of land, soil and sea and seeks to make us more aware about how our food is produced and to promote regenerative farming.
The next forthcoming exhibition, focuses on two pioneering projects in the South East of England. Go Grow With Love is a London-based eco-therapy service that creates a safe space for melanated women to reconnect with the land. Black Rootz is the first multigenerational Black-led growing project in the UK, where the older generation share their expertise on farming whilst also supporting youth engagement in their surrounding natural environment.
Both projects have been photographed by Arpita Shah a photographic artist based in the UK. She works between photography and film, exploring the intersections of culture and identity. Shah has been featured in the Guardian as one of seven ground-breaking female photographers across the world.
Arpita’s exhibition prints are being printed on Hahnemühle Bamboo Digital Fine Art paper by Hahnemühle Certified studio, Spectrum Photographic. The exhibition runs at ONCA Gallery from 25th September – 6th October 2024, as part of the Bristol Photo Fringe biennial: an open-platform photography festival funded by Arts Council England.
Photo Fringe is a volunteer-led charity supporting lens-based artists to create a fairer, greener, anti-racist world. They deliver a biennial open platform photography festival that has become one of the largest of its kind. #photofringe2024
‘We Feed The UK’ culminates with two exhibitions in April 2025 at the Martin Parr Foundation and the Royal Photographic Society, Bristol.
Print with the Community – Kirsty Mackay
Kirsty Mackay has worked closely with children, families and youth groups, primarily in Tipton, Bristol and the North-East of England, to help develop skills in photography, issuing them with compact film cameras and encouraging them to consider the power of their own voice and how to use it.
Children’s voices are at the forefront of the exhibition highlighting their lived experiences of nothing but hardship throughout their lives. They have grown up facing welfare reforms, austerity, the pandemic, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Kirsty Mackay has been working collaboratively with communities across England, documenting the impact of the cost-of-living crisis and the realities of poverty in the world’s 6th largest economy. The resulting project entitled The Magic Money Tree was initially exhibited at the New Art Gallery Walsall earlier this year and printed on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta Glossy FineArt . The exhibition will continue at the Bristol Photo Festival from the 15th October until the 17th November 2024, a book accompanying the exhibition will also be published in October by Bluecoat Press.
