Photoworks Weekender

About

Highlights include the premiere of a major new commission by Ampersand/Photoworks Fellow Felicity Hammond as part of Dreamy Place festival; an unmissable Superlab organised in partnership with Photo Meet, an incredible professional practice opportunity for photographers featuring world class industry masters: the launch of Photoworks Annual Annual #31: Multi Multi featuring a discussion led by Photoworks and Multi Multi Editor Diane Smyth together with contributors from the publication as a deep dive into the photographic dimensions of image replication; book launches, schools programmes and a wide range of events.

Exhibitions:

Variations by Felicity Hammond

24th October - 27th October

Jubilee Square

The world premiere of a major new commission and touring project will launch at Photoworks Weekender, by artist Felicity Hammond. Following the outstanding success of the inaugural biennial Ampersand/Photoworks Fellowship in 2021, the international selection panel awarded the second edition of the fellowship to Hammond, the first of four parts which will open at Jubilee Square for the Weekender before touring in three subsequent parts to Stills, QUAD and the Photographers Gallery across 2024 and 2025. Staged in four venues across the UK, Variations is an evolving installation exploring the relationship between geological mining and data mining, and image-making and machine learning.

The first iteration of this installation, V1: Content Aware, reflects on the global structures that support the digital economy; V2: Rigged brings together extractive processes that exploit humans and the land; V3: Model Collapse considers how machine-produced data feeds back into its own system; and V4: Repository highlights the role of data storage centres. Each installation will be photographically documented, and the resulting images used as a training set for the next exhibition; as in AI image-creation, the logic from past datasets will therefore be reiterated in new work. As part of Photoworks Weekender the first part of the exhibition V1: Content Aware will be exhibited as a public realm installation outdoors in Jubilee Square, Brighton from 24th October - 27th October, as part of Dreamy Place festival in Brighton.

Peer Matters

25th – 26th October

University of Brighton, Edward Street.

Peer Matters is an artist-led development programme, facilitated by Eva Jonas, Ezra Evans, and Marguerite Minnot Thomas, supported by Photoworks. Together with Eva, Ezra and Margot, the participating artists are: Alexandra Davenport, Anna Sellen, Chiara Zandonà, Ed Sykes, Emile Kees, Eva Jonas, Ezra Evans, Georgina McNamara, Marguerite Minnot Thomas, Phil Hill, Polly Palmerini, Roz Doherty, Sebastian F. Mahon, Sergey Novikov and Siddharth Khajuria. Since their monthly online gatherings began in March, the group have taken part in exercises that explore their individual and collective artistic experiences. Alongside traditional crit group frameworks of sharing and receiving feedback on projects, the group has taken part in ‘grounding exercises’, discussion, movement, and prompts that foster alternative modes of exchange, reflection, and learning. Peer Matters will be bringing their community-based ways of learning and developing one’s artistic practice to life at the Photoworks Weekender.

They will be staging an exhibition and a public programme consisting of workshops, roundtables and other artistic and community based activities and alternative ways of learning. These events will feed into a large installation (or Live Wall) within the exhibition that reflects both Peer Matters members and the wider Photoworks community brought together through the Weekender. The exhibition continues until 4th November 2024.

Photoworks Photography Champions

25-26 October

University of Brighton, Edward Street

A showcase at University of Brighton, Edward Street of works from photographers based within Photoworks’ Photography Champions network in locations: Barnsley, Portsmouth, Dudley and Blackpool. Photoworks’ Photography Champions is a programme that creates and invests in communities of artists and practitioners in selected locations across England.

The programme seeks to make new connections and build networks that activate the Photoworks programme and resources we already produce, expanding its impact and reach. It will empower communities in Arts Council England priority places supporting them to develop their own local programmes.

Photomeet 2024

25-26 October

University of Brighton, Edward Street

An exhibition of works by the three Photo Meet 2024 Award winners Sabine
Hess, Keerthana Kunnath, and Imogen Forte.

(The exhibition continues until 4th Nov)

Book Launch:

Photoworks Annual #31: Multi Multi

Friday 25th October at 5.30-7.30pm

Old Courthouse, Brighton

Photoworks Annual #31: Multi Multi will launch at Photoworks Weekender The event will feature a discussion led by Photoworks and Multi Multi Editor Diane Smyth together with contributors from the publication Michelle Henning, Felicity Hammond, Yuxing Chen.

Photoworks’ 31st Annual Publication is a deep dive into image replication. Multi Multi is a print publication which includes essays by Andrew Dewdney, Michelle Henning, and Photoworks editor Diane Smyth, plus an experimental text created with AI by Alex Puliatti. It features artworks by Paul Mpagi, Sepuya, Juno x GERIKO, Scheltens & Abbenes, Lunga Ntila, Cai Dongdong, Jasleen Kaur, Zou Jingyao, Yuxing Chen, Louisa Clement, Jason Grant and Oliver Vodeb, Chuan-Lun Wu, Marcel Top, Armin Linke and Estelle Blaschke, Felicity Hammond, Thomas Sauvin and Max Pinckers, Raena Abella, Sayako Sugawara, Luis Cobelo, Hoda Afshar, Lewis Bush, Anna Ridler, Kurt Caviezel, and Ton Grote. The Annual is available for free to Photoworks Friends, or £35 in selected art bookshops. A second launch will take place in Paris in November during Paris Photo.

Book Launch:

Lauren Joy Kennett, ‘Sorry I'm Not Sorry’

Saturday 26th, 5pm till late

Venue to be announced

Following the solo exhibition of ‘Sorry I'm Not Sorry’ by Lauren Joy Kennet in April, Photoworks is proud to launch the artists first photo book ‘Sorry I'm Not Sorry’ based on her recent Photoworks commission. ‘Sorry Iʼm Not Sorry’ explores LJK's experience of living with undiagnosed autism. Through autobiographical and archive photography, LJK uses cutting and collaging techniques to explore self-discovery, confrontation of life's traumas and experiences that have shaped her existence. The work was commissioned as part of Explorers, a national creative programme to increase the visibility and representation of neurodivergent artists in contemporary visual arts, led by Project Art Works with Photoworks and cultural partners nationwide. The book is designed by Jane & Jeremy, and will launch at the weekender on Saturday 26th, 5pm till late (booking and venue to be announced).

Artists Talk:

Felicity Hammond on Variations

Saturday 26 October, 11am

Jubilee Square – outdoors

Free, booking essential

Join our Photoworks Curator Danit Ariel, Photoworks Director Louise Fedotov-Clements and Artist Felicity Hammond for an introduction to her installation V1: Content Aware.

Professional Practice events:

Photo Meet X Photoworks Superlab

25 and 26 October

University of Brighton, Edward Street

An unmissable two-day intensive professional development event for photographers created by Photo Meet in partnership with Photoworks exploring exhibitions, editorial, photobooks and commercial practices. Full programme and booking to be announced soon.

Photoworks Open Crit

25 October, 10am-12pm

University of Brighton, Edward Street

£5

Photoworks host an open crit workshop, in which you will give and receive feedback from wonderful artists and industry professionals focussed on photography. We will be activating the group through creative methods of engaging with work, giving participants and opportunity to explore in peer to peer learning and gain reflections on their own portfolios and practices.

Photoworks Round Tables

25 October, 2.00pm-4.00pm

University of Brighton, Edward Street

£5

Photoworks Roundtables return to the Photoworks Weekender - following the success of this year's open-access peer-to-peer roundtables during our recent Summit, Photoworks is excited to announce the next round of conversations. These roundtables provided a valuable platform for practitioners and producers to come together, listen, and engage in meaningful conversations about the most pressing challenges facing our industry.

We received fantastic feedback, with participants highlighting the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals, seek advice, and explore solutions to the urgent issues they face. The sessions are designed for you and led by you, so we are seeking your input on discussion topics. Last year, we delved into subjects such as the role of art, survival strategies, funding, project development, publishing, exhibition-making, and collective practice. This year, we're also introducing a new group discussion, where all participants will come together to share their insights.

In advance of the event, we invite you to share 1-3 urgent issues facing artists, photographers, creatives and cultural workers today, which we'll use as a starting point for this and future roundtables and open discussions. We look forward to your participation and hearing your thoughts.

Peer Matters Workshop

25 October, 2.00pm-4.00pm

University of Brighton, Edward Street

Events and workshops - In a gathering space at the heart of the exhibition, a series of events led by Peer Matters members will both convene conversations about the importance of peer-to-peer relationships and the artists’ experience of finding one’s bearings and muddling through the ongoing process of developing, making and thinking, and spark a dialogue with exhibition themes, while at the same time creating new work for the live installation. The workshops include a photowalk, zine making and poetry and text reflections, as well as the opportunity to participate in round table discussions and a live growing installation.

Photosocial

Friday 25 October, 8pm till late

Sidewinder, 65 St James's St, Kemptown, Brighton, BN2 1PJ

Free no need to book

Photoworks PhotoSocials are informal meet ups for artists, curators, creatives and friends to meet and network