Between the Tides at the Festival of Ideas
I was invited to exhibit a selection of the beautiful sea bathers of Walpole Bay and the last whelkman of Broadstairs as part of the Festival of Ideas 2016 at The Creative Edge. The Festival of Ideas, located at Edge Hill University, importantly examines culture, health and society, envisioning ways for communities, arts and healthcare to develop and flourish in times of austerity and inequality. So in February 2016 the images were crated and shipped north to represent and celebrate the Isle of Thanet's coastal communities.
Speaking at Tate Liverpool
I was invited to speak at Edgehill University's Institute for Public Policy and Professional Practice' Arts, Health and Wellbeing Symposium which took place at Tate Liverpool on November 27, 2015. My paper 'Reimagining Place and Space - The seaside as a Site of Community Repair' used the Isle of Thanet as its case study and offered an opportunity to share positive and counter-narratives orbiting the Isle's coastal communities. What proved moving and delightful was that our local stories and local events have clear and impactful resonance at the regional and national level.
Speaking at Tate Modern
The Fast Forward: Women in Photography Conference took place at Tate Modern on 6-7 November 2015. What a fantastic two-days of gathering and idea sharing. I had benefited from a week-long instagram 'takeover' of @womeninphoto as a warm up before presenting my paper: Discovering Presence - The Innovative Practices of Women Seaside Photographers. The conference was filmed and once available I will place a link here.
We Are Here: The Best Of Us Commission
In 2015 I was commissioned by the extraordinary organisation People United to create a portrait series for the large Big Local / Best of Use project taking part on the Newington housing estate in Ramsgate, Kent, UK. My brief was to identify residents who were valued by the community and recognised as enhancing the lives of others. To begin with I was regarded with suspicion as I wondered about the estate - and why not? I wasn't known to the residents and I would be wondering around, camera bag on shoulder, seemingly asking obscure questions to random passersby. Through attending community events I became less of an intruder and eventually had some beautiful encounters - most tellingly when I asked who was enhancing community life on the estate the same names were coming up time and time again. I had my subjects and now all I needed to do was to convince them to let me photograph them. The bewilderment as I asked to photograph each subject was humbling. Their contributions to the community was never seen by them as 'worthy' or 'doing good deeds' - it is just what they do / what they are.
sea bathers: reflections and responses
EVENT: SEA BATHERS: Reflections & Responses
24th May 2015
An engaging day of events considering how creatives and communities reflect and respond to the sea and sea bathing. Following a morning of talks and presentations at Turner Contemporary, in Margate, there will be an opportunity to view the stunning Walpole Bay Tidal Pool through a yurt transformed into a magical camera obscura; visit the itinerant studio of tintype photographer Rob Ball; meet Dom Bridges and the Margate Sea Bathing Machine prototype and for those hardy enough, join Susie Parr and the Walpole Bay Swimmers for a tidal pool dip.
