FORMAT PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Angela is Associate Curator and Programme Co-ordinator at Impressions Gallery, Bradford, one of the UKs leading public-funded spaces for contemporary photography. Over the past 4 years she has overseen the delivery of exhibitions by photographers including Yan Preston, David Chancellor, Jon Tonks and Noel Bowler. In 2017, she curated Field Work, a survey of ten years of work by Liza Dracup, programmed to coincide with Impressions Gallery’s tenth anniversary in Bradford. She is currently curating an exhibition of work by internationally acclaimed photographer Mandy Barker examining the global impact of marine plastic debris.

Angela is interested in seeing critically-engaged bodies of work that are timely and relevant, and that will engage, move, or challenge viewers. She is open to subject matter, but is less interested in commercial work, given that Impressions does not sell prints.

Anna-Kaisa Rastenberger, PhD, works as a Professor of Exhibition Studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki. She is responsible for the MA-program for curatorial studies, Praxis. She is also is an artistic director and co-founder of The Festival of Political Photography. Anna-Kaisa is on the leave of absence from her position as the Chief Curator at The Finnish Museum of Photography, where she worked 2009–2016. She has extensive experience in exhibition projects, curating practices and the international exhibition scene of the contemporary arts. She has published widely about contemporary photography. Recently she co-edited a book Why Exhibit? Positions On Exhibiting Photographies, 2018, FW:books. Her special interests are exhibition as critical practice, feminist curation and running.

Anna-Kaisa is looking for images, which challenges the stereotypical photographic representations. I am also curious to see pictures, which make spectators think how photographic images function in the contemporary world.

Anne is a creative director, photo historian and lecturer. As an award-winning editorial art director, she worked in Amsterdam, Paris and London before joining the National Portrait Gallery as an independent consultant invited to commission themed group portraiture. Between 2009-2012 she developed the creative approach and produced the Gallery’s largest ever commission The Road to 2012. This included three annual exhibitions, public realm national touring exhibition, and accompanying social engagement projects.

Anne is now completing her role on the multimedia touring project SIXTEEN, which asks what it’s like to be sixteen years old now. The final exhibition of the yearlong tour that crisscrossed the UK from the Outer Hebrides to Northern Ireland, north, north west, the midlands, the south west and east of England and north Wales concludes its tour in London.

She would like to see portraiture and whatever personal projects the photographer is developing with enthusiasm and excitement.

Azu is the Founder and Director of African Artists’ Foundation (AAF), a non- profit organisation based in Lagos, Nigeria. He was elected as the Interim Director/ Head Curator of the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art in South Africa from June 2018 to August 2019. He also serves as Founder and Director of LagosPhoto Festival, an annual international arts festival of photography held in Lagos. He is the creator of Art Base Africa, a virtual space to discover and learn about contemporary African Art. Azu served as a juror for the Dutch Doc, POPCAP Photography Awards, the World press Photo, Prisma Photography Award (2015), Greenpeace Photo Award (2016), New York Times Portfolio Review (2017-18), W. Eugene Smith Award (2018), Photo Espana (2018), Foam Paul Huf Award (2019), Wellcome photography prize (2019) and is a regular juror for organisations such as Lensculture and Magnum.

For the past 20 years, he has curated private collections for various prominent individuals and corporate organisations in Africa. Nwagbogu obtained a Masters in Public Health from The University of Cambridge. He lives and works in Lagos, Nigeria.

Azu is only ever interested in work made with conviction and thoroughly researched even when the artist is dealing with the self.

As a reviewer, Beate is interested in seeing contemporary art works made by artists working with photography and video.

Ben is the Director of Stills: Centre for Photography, a gallery with production facilities that was established in 1977 and is based in the heart of Edinburgh. His curated exhibitions for Stills have included presentations of work by Anna Atkins, Kate Davis, Margaret Watkins, kennardphillipps, Lewis Baltz, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman and Jo Spence. Each year, Ben curates exhibitions highlighting new talent in photography from Scotland. He has also developed an annual series of displays showcasing photographic objects from rarely seen public and private archives and collections.

From 2003-13, Ben was Curator of Contemporary Art for Glasgow Museums where he curated numerous temporary exhibitions and collection displays for the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA). From 2007-12, he was Lead Curator on Glasgow’s Art Fund International collecting project.

Ben is interested in all work, particularly in: content raising awareness to social and political issues; innovative practice and approaches to content, technique and display; links to Scotland; content that draws upon the history of photography, archives and collections.

Photo by Flannery O’Kafka

Bridget is a senior picture editor based in London, where she has worked for national newspapers and magazines.

In addition to her editorial experience, Bridget has curated a number of exhibitions, including Residual Traces, a photographic response to the 2012 Olympics at Photofusion in Brixton and in 2009 was Director of the Hereford Photography Festival where she presented the photography of European photographers working with the image of the child in “Seen But Not Heard” and curated the retrospective show of photojournalist and filmmaker John Bulmer.

Bridget has been a guest reviewer at international photography festivals including, Photoespania, Spain; Daegu Photography Biennale, South Korea; Contact International Photography Festival, Canada; Fotofest, US and Format International Photography Festival, UK. In 2015 Bridget was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Photography, UK.

Bridget would prefer to see projects that are either nearly finished or completed. Could be on any subject or genre.

Camilla is a curator, writer and lecturer on contemporary art, specialising in photography based in Derbyshire. For ten years she was Senior curator at The Photographers’ Gallery, London previous to which she was Exhibitions Curator at Tate Liverpool. She is on the Board of Directors at QUAD, Derby and on the steering group for FORMAT Photography Festival. She holds a number of academic posts and has been Senior Lecturer in Creative Industries at Middlesex University and more recently started teaching MA photography and Fine Art at the University of Derby. She is Associate Curator for GRAIN, a West Midlands based arts organisation dedicated to commissioning high quality photography projects, events and exhibitions.

She is a regular contributor to the webzine Photomonitor writing book and exhibition reviews as well as longer essays on UK based photographers.

Area of work interested in: She is curious about a range of practice and has specialised in exhibiting photography and moving image work. She has areas of research looking at self – portraiture and also landscape photography.

Charlie Booth is the Interim Curator at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool and Community Engagement Manager at Manchester Histories Festival. She is also an independent producer supporting many leading talents in photography.

For four years she worked for Redeye, the Photography Network managing their programme of professional development events. She also worked as an assistant curator on the Tall Tales National Touring exhibition and as a Curatorial Fellow for the Hepworth Wakefield and South Square Gallery in Bradford.

She uses this unique experience and insight to work with multiple photographers to advise on their practice, co-fundraise, coordinate projects and produce exhibitions.

Her latest project involves working with Elizabeth Wewiora under the producing name of Wewiora & Booth to produce Quinn – a journey by Lottie Davies currently open at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry.

Charlie is hoping to see new work by photographers open to working collaboratively to produce exhibitions and projects that have purpose and work towards social change.

Christiane is the founding editor of the online magazine Photomonitor, dedicated to photography and lens-based media in the UK and Ireland, and has published more than 1,000 features from over 200 artists and writers online since 2011.

Christiane is also a free-lance curator, lecturer, judge of photography prizes and competitions and has reviewed portfolios for festivals including FORMAT, WPO, Photo Ireland and Kaunas Photo Festival. Christiane holds degrees including an MA in Contemporary Art History from Sotheby’s Institute, an MBA from Columbia University (NY) and BA (Economics) from Rice University. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at Photofusion, London.

She is interested in all types of lens-based work, particularly bodies of work that would be suitable for presentation online, in a gallery or in a publication. At the portfolio review she would most enjoy discussing work that is in-progress, unresolved, or otherwise benefitting from conversations on different strategies and outcomes.

Dagmar is the UK Photo Editor of the German weekly stern magazine. She proposes story and feature ideas, commissions and buys work for stern and writes features about culture and photography for this renowned publication. Dagmar also contributes to the magazine’s associated titles such as the monthly VIEW, the bi-monthly stern CRIME and others, and runs K&R Media, a photo agency and correspondents’ service for various German and Swiss media clients such as Die Zeit, Brigitte, the Swiss broadsheet NZZ and the broadcaster ARD. She is passionate about discovering and developing new talent and has held workshops and talks about editorial photography and its role in storytelling in the UK and abroad. Dagmar is also Director of K&R Media, a photo agency for German and Swiss media.

Dagmar would like to see work from a wide range of photographic genres, especially if it has a strong narrative which may appeal to a more mainstream international readership. Photojournalism, documentary, street photography and portraiture are her main focus. She is interested in conceptual and fashion photography too, though generally not in architecture.

David Drake is the Director of Ffotogallery, the national development agency for photography and lens-based media in Wales, which celebrated its 40^th anniversary in 2018. Ffotogallery’s work involves exhibitions, print and online publishing, and an extensive education programme. Ffotogallery has been the lead agency for two pan-European cooperation projects, European Prospects and A Woman’s Work. David is also Director of the biennial Diffusion – Cardiff International Festival of Photography, this year in its fourth edition, and was Project Director for Wales’ pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2015. In 2017/18, Ffotogallery collaborated with the Nazar Foundation on a project called Dreamtigers, as part of the UK-India programme.

David is Curator of a major UK-Gulf photography exhibition commissioned by the British Council Abu Dhabi which has been touring seven countries in 2019/20.

As a portfolio reviewer, David offers participants curatorial feedback and guidance on how to present their work to galleries and publishers, including Ffotogallery, how to pitch for art commissions, and advice on their development as a professional artist. He is most interested in viewing cohesive bodies of work with conceptually driven themes that have been or are near completion. He welcomes reviewing contemporary image-based work across a wide range of practices, including fine art and documentary photography, video, installation and digital media work.

As Ffotogallery does not present purely commercial, fashion or stock photography, he would prefer not to review such work.

In 2019, Dewi celebrated 25 years of independent publishing. His publishing house has an international reputation with books by leading British and international photographers as well as by emerging photographers. Many of its titles have been shortlisted for various international prizes and several have won awards. 
In 2018 the company won both the Paris Photo / Aperture Foundation Photobook of The Year Award and the Rencontres d’Arles Author Book Prize.

Dewi Lewis is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. In 2009 he was awarded the inaugural Royal Photographic Society Award for Outstanding Services to Photography and, in 2012, the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation Award for Outstanding Contribution to Publishing.

Other than illustrative travel photography and nude photography, Dewi Lewis is interested in seeing any work suitable for publication in book form which has the potential to generate reasonable interest from a book buying audience.

Erik Vroons (1976, The Netherlands) is Editor-at-large for GUP, the international platform for creative contemporary photography, and as Chief editor for the print edition of GUP Magazine. Furthermore, since 2012, he is closely involved with the production of, and the selection procedure for, the annual catalog GUP New (previously titled New Dutch Photography Talent) and its European version, Fresh Eyes since 2019. In recent years, he also initiates exhibitions with emerging artists based in The Netherlands, in the form of group shows at festivals and galleries around the world (e.g. Artsalon Taipei/2017; BredaPhoto/ 2018 and Paraty em Foco, Brazil/2018).

As a freelance writer/critic Erik has also contributed texts to several other international print magazines (e.g. British Journal of Photography, 1000Words, Archivo) and blogs (e.g, World Press Photo’s ‘Witness’). He is closely involved in the editing of various photobooks and contributes essays to several monographies. His collaborations within projects by award-winning photographers also include elements of research and curatorial conceptualization.

As a freelancer, Erik is furthermore active for World Press Photo (leading a fact-checking team for the annual awards) and several Dutch organizations concerned with the stimulation of photography. He is also a mentor in the field of creative authorship and the development of (documentary) projects, in the form of workshops. He is based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and holds an MA in Photographic Studies (University Leiden) and an MA in Media Studies (University of Amsterdam).

Erik is looking forward to seeing the kind of photography which demonstrates smart and original approached to art- and documentary related subjects, by means of creative and convincing artistic authorship.

Photo Credit: Diane van der Marel

Helen Starr is a Afro-Carib curator and producer who moved to the UK from Trinidad in the early 90’s. She founded The Mechatronic Library in 2010, to enable artists and museums to create artworks using new media technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). She has worked with award winning public institutions such as the South London Gallery, FACT in Liverpool and QUAD in Derby.

Helen is interested in how Virtual, AI and digital systems no longer simply model physical reality, but also shape the way we behave and act with or without our knowledge and consent.  These digital artworks are showcased in thought provoking multimedia exhibitions accompanied by insightful public programmes. Community, healing and learning are the core of her practice.

Helen prefers portfolios which are personal, political and futuristic. Helen can advise on story-telling, project development and how to integrate new media into your practice.

Image credit: Anna Bunting- Branch still from META 2019, (360 degree film, 15mins)

Created in 2010, the Guernsey Photography Festival brings together major names in international photography with a host of emerging talent, for a packed month of exhibitions, projections, talks, educational workshops and community events on the island. The festival is now firmly established as one of the most important and successful cultural events in Guernsey and has positioned itself amongst the best festivals of photography in Europe.

The festival concentrates mainly on contemporary photography including documentary and conceptual work. Jean-Christophe can offer various platforms for photographers through the festivals range of exhibitions, talks series and artist in residence programmes. The festival has developed close relationships with other major international festivals, galleries, agencies and publishers so JC can recommend people when appropriate.

For JC, a strong portfolio has to be coherent, innovative with a strong sense of artistic integrity. He is particularly interested in individuals who keep developing and maturing their work and strive to keep producing high quality projects over time. Reviewing a portfolio is above all about opening a dialogue with the artist. It is about creating an environment of attentive listening in order to deliver clear guidance and advice.

Photo by Peter Franklin/Guernsey Press

John Duncan is one of the editors of Source magazine. He studied Documentary Photography at Newport and Fine Art Photography at Glasgow School of Art and still makes his own work. In each issue Source publishes two personal projects by photographers on its ‘portfolio pages’. His role is to be on the look out for new work for this section of the magazine. This includes work by photographers in the early stages of their careers, recent graduates as well as more established photographers.

To give us editorial focus work needs to made by photographers from or based in the UK or Ireland. Source has quite a broad remit in terms of what they publish. In general its personal projects resolved over an extended series of images. The archive section of their website gives you a sense of what they do. John is interested in looking at prints rather than images on screens. He is happy to look at longer edits of work in progress or completed work.

Karen is the Creative Director of Shutter Hub, a photography organisation providing opportunities, support and networking for creative photographers worldwide. Shutter Hub provides the chance for photographers to professionally promote their work, access high quality opportunities and make new connections within the photographic community.

Karen is also a curator, consultant, photographer and writer. She curates exhibitions internationally and has won awards for photography, writing and community development.

Karen wants to see work by photographers who are looking for support and direction, who want to exhibit their work and develop their networks.

Karen is Senior Curator at The Photographers’ Gallery. She has curated exhibitions including Jim Goldberg, Open See (2009); Fiona Tan, Vox Populi, London (2012); Andy Warhol, Photographs: 1976 – 1987 (2014); Lorenzo Vitturi, Dalston Anatomy (2014) and Rosângela Rennó, Río-Montevideo(2016). She has co-curated Geraldo De Barros, What Remains (2013) with Isobel Whitelegg, Made You Look, Dandyism and Black Masculinity (2016) with EkowEshun and Shot in Soho (2019) with Julian Rodriguez. Karen has curated external exhibitions at The Moscow House of Photography and The National Gallery of Kosovo. She regularly participates in international workshops, writes for photography publications, guest lectures across the UK and edits artists books. Karen also facilitates TPG New Talent, a programme and exhibition for UK based emerging practitioners.

Karen is happy to view work from many genres including that which falls under an expanded definition of photography and image making. Work in progress is welcomed, as well as finished projects. Karen is less interested in viewing advertising or heavily commercial work.

Karin is a picture editor at The Guardian where she works on the print edition of the newspaper. During her ten years there she has worked across all print titles, including Weekend Magazine, G2 as well as online. While on G2, Karin wrote for the photography column My Best Shot, interviewing leading photographers including Vanley Burke, Cristina de Middel and Carrie Mae Weems. Prior to working at the Guardian, Karin worked at the Evening Standard, NME and Time Out.

She has a Bachelors in Fine Arts from Central St Martins and a Masters in History of Photography from Birkbeck. Karin is a regular participant at photography festivals and has been invited to portfolio reviews at Rencontres D’Arles and Photo Espania. She has been an international panelist on photography competitions and was a mentor for Women Photograph’s first year long program for emerging photographers.

She is interested in seeing people who work in news and features.

Marina Paulenka is the Artistic Director of UNSEENFoundation, a platform for contemporary photography that presents the latest developments in the field of photography and amplifies the careers of boundary-pushing artists.

Prior to her new role at Unseen, she worked as a curator and Artistic Director of the Organ Vida International Photography Festival and the non-for-profit Organ Vida Photography Organization, the leading institution for contemporary photography in Croatia.

So far she has curated numerous exhibitions and work with artists such as Tabita Rezaire, Dana Lixenberg, Zanele Muholi, Hannah Starkey, Roger Ballen, Pieter Hugo, Nina Berman, Amalia Ulman, Laia Abril, Katrin Koenning and many others.

Marina is the recipient of the Lucie Awards 2018 for best curator/exhibition of the year for the exhibition “Engaged, Active, Aware: Women Perspectives Now”.

She nominates photographers for The Joop Swart Masterclass, the Prix Pictet, the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize and she is an international juror and portfolio reviewer at many institutions, awards and festivals worldwide including the Les Rencontres d’Arles, Hamburg Triennial, Robert Capa Prize, FORMAT.

Monica Allende is an independent curator, consultant and educator. She is the Artistic Director of LandskronaFoto Festival, and was GetxoPhoto International Image Festival Artistic Director from 2017 to 2019. She has also collaborated with WeTransfer as a Consultant and Creative Producer, as well as the director of FORMAT17 International Photography Festival.

She has worked with Screen Projects and produced and curated Blue Skies Project, a multidisciplinary project with artist Anton Kusters and Ruben Samama exhibited during PhotoLondon 2019 and currently showing at USHMM. It was also recently shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize.

Monica was the Photo Editor at the Sunday Times Magazine, where she launched Spectrum, the award-winning photography section. She is a visiting lecturer at the London College of Communication, London & EFTI in Madrid.

She has also produced and taught creatives labs including for FIFV in Chile, ScreenLab in London and WPP JOOP Masterclass in Saudi Arabia. Along with the University of Sunderland’s Mentorship Business Programme, Festival Internazionale a Ferrara, WPP workshop Angola, Magnum Professional Practice Workshops, among many others.

She is dedicated to nurturing new and established talent and nominates photographers for prizes including the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, the Prix Pictet andThe Joop Swart Masterclass/ WPP.

She has served on juries across the world including the Center Awards in  Santa Fe, Perth  Center for Photography,  Vogue Festival, Bar Tur Photobook Award, La Fabrica/Photo London dummy award and LandskronaFoto.

She has also been the recipient of the Amnesty International Media Photojournalism Award, the Picture Editor’s Award, the Online Press Award and Magazine Design Award for Best Use of Photography.

Photo by Carlos Alba.

Nicola works as a Producer, Curator, Project Manager, Mentor and Consultant specialising in photography.  She trained as an art historian, has an MA in History of Art, and a background in the visual arts, including in commissioning, exhibitions, collections, public art, artists education and professional development.

She is currently Director of GRAIN Projects, based in Birmingham UK, facilitating the hub and network and leading on the programme and activities which include commissioning new work, curating exhibitions, developing artist’s and photographer’s training, development and networking opportunities, organising talks and symposia and developing new audiences.   In her capacity at GRAIN she is interested in working with emerging and established artists and photographers.

Recent projects include collaborations with FORMAT Festival, Magnum Photos, Redeye Photography Network, Brighton Photo Fringe, Library of Birmingham and The Hive Arts Centre.

Nicola is interested in seeing fine art photography and bodies of work that have a clear subject or story to tell, which the photographer explores in an original way. This could be within documentary, portraiture, still life or fine art.   She is interested in a wide range of photographic genres including emerging practices. She is not interested in seeing fashion photography, photojournalism or architectural photography.

Since 1990, Nuno has worked as a creative producer and project manager for several institutions in the cultural industries. He has developed projects related with visual arts (photography), festivals, performing arts (theatre), multimedia (cinema, video and television), music, creative markets, international cultural networks and conferences.

PARALLEL is a platform that brings together creative European organisations committed to promoting cross-cultural exchanges and mentorships in order to set new standards in contemporary photography. The platform consists of 18 partners from 16 countries ensuring a wide geographical spread. With its large and diverse network, PARALLEL aims to establish a wide and effective platform for the exhibition of European emerging artists and curators and to promote a more fluid and functional link between them and the exhibitors (museums, galleries and festivals).

Nuno is also Artistic Director of Procur.arte, a Lisbon based organisation that specialises and produces International photography projects.

Nuno is interested in working with a good story, and always looking for new photographers to work with.

Peggy Sue is Artistic Director for East Wing, a platform for international photography founded in Doha, Qatar. As a curator, writer, strategist, mentor and photographic consultant, Peggy Sue has collaborated with numerous emerging and established photographers, festivals and publications internationally. Before beginning her position at East Wing, Peggy Sue was Artistic Director of Sirius Arts Centre in Ireland (2001 – 2014) where she headed a multidisciplinary visual arts and residency programme. Peggy was also a board member of the Belfast Photo Festival in Northern Ireland (2012 – 2016). She is presently based in Berlin.

Peggy is most interested to in reviewing works that are well researched with an innovative point of view. As a curator, producer and consultant, Peggy Sue can help artists consider strategies for developing their projects through editing and sequencing, but also she can suggest ways to grow their professional practice and promote their work to a larger audience internationally. She is not interested in most fashion, nudes or commercial photography.

Sian is a UK based artist and curator. She is currently Reader in Photography at Manchester School of Art, part of Manchester Metropolitan University. In 1999 she established TRACE, the curation and publishing project. She curated the first ever showing of UK student photographic work for the 2014 Pingyao International Photography Festival and has continued each year since.

Sian regularly reviews portfolios at international photography festivals and has judged major competitions including The Jerwood Photography Prize in 2006 and the Taylor Wessing Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 2009.

She is interested in seeing all forms of photography apart from glamour. Reviewing at FORMAT previously, she has seen many bodies of work that she has taken to exhibit in Pingyao Festival, and is happy to see student work.

Skinder is CEO/Director of New Art Exchange and has been in post since the establishment of the organisation in September 2008 positioning NAE as one of the leading contemporary art spaces in the UK. He has successfully led the organisation through a significant period of growth and development, achieving a strong reputation for creating and producing high quality adventurous art, bringing international level culturally diverse art to Nottingham and the UK. He is passionate about supporting new talent, and creating ‘incredible encounters’, rethinking and improving how the arts and cultural ecology works so that the value of art and culture is shared as widely as possible and is inclusive at all levels. He has successfully delivered many complex, large-scale projects, including  Here There & Everywhere international programme as part of Re-Imagine India.

Skinder has commissioned significant artists including Akram Zaatari, Zarina Bhimji, John Akomfrah, Hetain Patel, Zineb Sedira, Hurvin Anderson and Sonia Boyce and presented works at NAE including Christian Marclay’s ‘The Clock’ and Turner prize winners Elizabeth Price and Duncan Campbell. Several commissions have been bought by Tate, Arts Council Collection and international museums.