FORMAT PORTFOLIO REVIEW

Anna is the director of FOTEA and the Uganda Press Photo Awards, a unique educational photography platform and annual competitions for East African photojournalists and photographers. She also works as a Photo and Web editor at ZAM Magazine. Anna has collaborated with a diverse range of partners, has curated and assisted many exhibitions and has worked on innovative visual storytelling initiatives. She is passionate about developing alternative educational models and networks for visual professionals on the African continent and beyond. She is a frequent nominator and jury member for initiatives including the Joop Swart Masterclass, CAP Prize, FORMAT, Belfast Photo Festivals and Kuala Lumpur International Photoawards. She is based between Kampala and The Hague.  

Anna is open-minded but particularly interested in work originating from or engaging with the African continent and its diaspora. She’s also keen on seeing work responding to topics of resistance, authoritarianism, marginalized communities and diverse viewpoints. 

Anne Nwakalor is the Founding Editor of No! Wahala Magazine, one of Africa’s first-ever contemporary photography magazine dedicated to showcasing authentic visual stories told by African creatives. She is also a Photo Editor and presently works as a Communication Expert within the development space in the UK and Nigeria.

Anne is interested in conceptual work and work that represents ancestral history and representation.

Arianna is a freelance professional working with photography at a wide range. From 2012 to 2021 she was the artistic director of Cortona On The Move, international festival of visual narrative. Since 2016, she is the photography curator at PhEST, a festival on contemporary photography and arts in Puglia.   

Arianna’s relationship with photography started in 1998 as Archive Director at Magnum Photos, NY; and then, back in Italy, as photo editor for Colors magazine. From 2004 to 2011, in Milan, she worked as editorial consultant and curator for exhibitions and special projects. For 4 years she was photo consultant at D, the weekend supplement of La Repubblica. For almost 10 years she was the director of OjodePez, a bilingual documentary photo quarterly published by La Fabrica in Madrid.  

Based in Barcelona since 2012, Arianna is active as consultant, teacher, curator and editor. She participates in photo events and festivals around the world as speaker and portfolio reviewer; and she is regularly invited on jury panels and selections committees for international institutions and organizations. Arianna is intrigued by the amazing stories told through images. She is interested in contemporary documentary and original storytelling: visions on the current world and stories of humankind living on this planet, and beyond.  

Arianna is interested in contemporary storytelling, experimental documentary. Stories of our world and visions of mankind living on this planet, and beyond.

Photo by Paolo Verzone.

Asha Iman is Associate Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Photography. She focuses on interdisciplinary projects that advocate cross-cultural solidarity across geographic or political distance. Veal’s recent curatorial projects and exhibitions include: Beautiful Diaspora/You Are Not the Lesser Part at MoCP (2022); Martine Gutierrez at MoCP (2021); RAISIN as a partner program of the Chicago Architecture Biennial (2021); Dream at Hyde Park Art Center (2021); and more. Her previous work includes curatorial, publication, and research projects in Chicago, New York, Edinburgh, Vietnam, Juárez, Havana, and Tokyo; as well as serving as Associate Festival Producer for playwright Eve Ensler’s V-Day global movement to end violence against women and girls (New York). She has been a juror and nominator for contemporary arts organizations and residencies including Arts + Public Life at University of Chicago Arts, Center for the Study of Race Politics Culture at University of Chicago, and more; and was recently on the boards of Experimental Sound Studio and Heaven Gallery. Her projects have been featured and supported by international organizations such as Pakhuis de Zwijger Amsterdam, Istituto Italiano di Cultura Chicago, Alfred Landecker Foundation/Humanity in Action, BMW Foundation, and more. Asha Iman is faculty for Arts Administration & Policy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

She is most interested in seeing: narrative projects, portraiture, documentary photography, and performance. 

Phoo by Benita Nnenna Nnachortam

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

Clare is Head of Exhibitions at The Photographers’ Gallery in London. She studied BA Joint Hons Philosophy/Art History (Leeds University) and MA Image and Communications (Photography) at Goldsmiths College. She has worked in a number of public institutions in London including the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Whitechapel Gallery, Hayward Gallery and National Portrait Gallery. At The Photographers’ Gallery she has worked on exhibitions with artists and photographers including Lise Sarfati, Isa Genzken, Larry Sultan & Mike Mandel, Taryn Simon, Katy Grannan, Antoine D’Agata, Cuny Janssen, Zineb Sedira and Keith Arnatt.

Group exhibitions include ‘The Photographic Object’, ‘Photography & Collage’ and ‘Double Take: Photography & Drawing’. Other projects include a Bettina Von Zwehl solo exhibition at the Freud Museum, and contributions to books and catalogues include Alex Prager’s ‘Silver Lake Drive’, and more recently ‘Another Country’. She has been a Sessional Lecturer at Birkbeck College, London, teaching course on hidden and unknown London photographic archives, and has lectured at institutions including University of the Arts, University of South Wales, Sotheby’s Institute of Art. She has also completed a foundation course in Psychoanalysis at the Institute of Psychoanalysis, London and is a keen amateur birdwatcher. 

She does not mind what she sees but is less useful for those wanting editorial/commercial advice.

 Coşar has been the partner of DIFOART, Digital Photography Labs in Istanbul since 2004 and later he founded DIFOART Gallery, a system to sell limited edition photographs. In late 2022 DIFOART opened his first international gallery and branch in Doha, Qatar. 

He served as a coordinator for international relations and participated to the curation team of the Istanbul Photography Festival between 2016-2017. 

Since 2015 he has been the photography director of FOLKART Gallery. He has curated 50 independent exhibitions 50 exhibitions in Turkey and 1 in Sweden (including Yıldız Moran – Timeless Photographs at Pera Museum) and served as consultant for many art and photography projects. In 2017 he was appointed as a guest curator at DIPE, in China which is one the of the biggest Photography Biennials in the world.  

 Coşar is interested in meeting new photograhers to potentially exhibit their work and also add to the Difo Art Collection to sell.

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 is Editor-at-large for GUP, the international platform for creative contemporary photography, and as Chief editor for the print edition of GUP Magazine. He is currently also an independent writer, editor, mentor, researcher’ in the broad and ever expanding field of photography/ visual storytelling. 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 by Kees Rijken 

Before joining Fotofestiwal, Franek co-founded TIFF International Photography Festival. He devoted a large part of his work to bringing up aspects related to the photobooks and popularizing them in Poland. This interest resulted in several exhibitions, lectures and cooperation with prominent figures from the world of photography and the publishing scene of photobooks. In the Fotofestiwal collective he is responsible for the festival program, coordination of exhibitions, events and publications.

I’m interested in wide range of fine art, documentary photography and mixed-media work. I would be happy to review unpublished photobooks and give advices on editing, sequence and design. I am always looking for young or emerging photographic talents for possible future collaborations. Please no commercial portfolios, architecture or nude-photography.

Izabela  is a writer and editor based in London, and of Chinese-Polish heritage. She is the Editor-in-Chief of British Journal of Photography and Editorial Director of 1854 Media. Her words have appeared in Disegno and Press Association among others and she is a guest lecturer and speaker on photography and publishing in various UK-based universities. She has appeared on a number of international photography festival juries and portfolio reviewing panels. Prior to this, she completed a MA in Magazine Journalism at City University, London, and more recently acquired a Postgraduate Certificate in Graphic Design at London College of Communication.

She is interested in personal projects with a strong narrative, within the spheres of documentary, conceptual, fine art, landscape, portraiture and everything in between. Izabela won’t be much help for those looking for advice on commercial work, technical improvement and/or fashion and studio photography. 

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

Joanne  is an artistic director, curator, juror, lecturer, portfolio reviewer and writer in the field of photography, working within a wide range internationally. 

Joanne is the artistic director of Korea International Photo Festival (KIPF) which has been held at Hangaram Art Museum of Seoul Arts Center in Seoul, South Korea since 2018, and is also the director and curator of Y&G Art Global contemporary project, collaborating with galleries, magazines and private museums on curating and collecting. She has organized and curated a variety of exhibitions on contemporary art and photography, such as Dong Gang International Photography Festival, Seoul Photo Festival and many more. She received The Art and Culture Award for Curating of the Seoul Photo Festival (2011) from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and she was appointed as Director of the International Committee by the Seoul Metropolitan City Government. Joanne is author of many articles on photography, and has interviewed international artists for such diverse magazines as Korea Monthly Photography, PhotoDot, Monthly PhotoArt, Art Now and more. 

Joanne is most interested in viewing contemporary and developed bodies of work covering diverse issues. She is not interested in reviewing commercial photography. 

John 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 three 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. He is happy to look at longer edits of work in progress or completed work.

Karen is the Creative Director of Shutter Hub, the UK based photography organisation providing opportunities, support and networking for creative photographers worldwide. She founded the organisation to create a supportive community for photographers and to provide a platform for the development of ideas and careers.

She is dedicated to creating fair access to photography and opening up opportunities for everyone. She’d love to see work by creative photographers who are looking for support and direction, who want to exhibit their work, develop their networks, and connect with others.

Karen has spoken at industry events and locations such as FOAM Museum, London Art Fair, FORMAT Festival, and the Festival of Creative Industries; curated exhibitions at London Photomonth, Cambridge University, and St Bride Foundation, to name just a few in the UK, and taken shows to Belgium, Denmark, France, Israel, Portugal, Romania and The Netherlands. She’s reviewed portfolios in the UK, Europe, Canada, the US and Israel; at Unseen Amsterdam, FORMAT International Photography Festival, Belfast Photo Festival, London Photomonth, The Photographers’ Gallery, Getty Images Gallery, Exposure Photo Festival, Griffin Museum of Photography and the Photographic Resource Center, and more.

Karen is a consultant, curator and collaborator who works to bring innovative ideas and fundamental kindness to every project. She has won awards for photography, writing and community development. In 2019 she was named the Digital Influencer of the Year at the Holland Press Awards. Karen is experienced in working with museums and galleries, developing exhibition spaces, and collaborating with organisations such as The National Archive, English Heritage and Cambridge University. She also founded and co-directs the charitable organisation Toiletries Amnesty.

Currently Louise leads a national and international contemporary arts and photography programme across 1500 forests, working at the forefront of the global climate crisis and exploring the vital intersection between art, science and biodiversity, at Forestry England, including Earth Photo. Previously Louise was Artistic Director of QUAD, a center for contemporary art and film for 20 years. Director of FORMAT International Photography Festival for 18 years, which she co-founded in 2004, currently Patron of FORMAT. 

An independent curator since 1998 directing commissions, publications, performances and exhibitions. A Guest Curator for international exhibitions/festivals including Dong Gang (Yeongwol) South Korea; Photoquai Biennale Musée du quai Branly Paris; Les Rencontres Arles, Discoveries; Dali Photo, China; Venice Biennale EM15; Photo Beijing, and LishuiPhoto China; Korea International Photo Festival.  An international award nominator, she has also contributed to numerous publications as producer/writer/editor and a regular juror, portfolio reviewer, speaker in Europe, America, Africa & Asia. 

Malcolm is a curator, writer and organiser. He is the Director of Street Level Photoworks, a leading photography arts organisation in Scotland that provides artists and the public with a range of opportunities to make and engage with photography. He co-ordinates a programme which embraces different genres of photography and is extended through a network of local and community venues, regional art galleries, and through national and international partners. Recent exhibitions include Forever Changes – Contemporary Nordic Photography and Climate Change and forthcoming solo exhibitions by Colin Gray, Margaret Mitchell, Moira McIver and Simon Murphy. Exchange residencies include those with the Northern Photographic Centre (Finland), Kaunas Gallery (Lithuania), and Artlink (Ireland). Street Level manage the Photography Networks in Scotland platform which profiles exhibitions and events happening across the country and is a member of Scotland’s Workshops, a network of artists production centres in Scotland.  

Interested in viewing bodies of work in their early stages as well as substantially developed bodies of work from artists and photographers which blend experimental approaches, conceptual or issue based themes; photography as social practice; work that tells a compelling story; lyrical and narrative or abstract and non-narrative. Almost everything except fashion, commercial or classical modes of documentary. Prefer not to give advice to students as they should seek advice from their experienced tutors, peers and from existing resources available online. 

Michael Itkoff is a Cofounder of Daylight Books, a non-profit organisation dedicated to publishing art and photography books. For two decades, Daylight has been dedicated to publishing art and photography via its print and digital publishing programs. By exploring the documentary mode along with the more conceptual concerns of fine-art, Daylight’s uniquely collectible publications work to revitalise the relationship between art, photography, and the world-at-large. 

Michael has been deeply involved in the publishing industry in both print and digital media and has written for the NYTimes Lens blog, Art Asia Pacific, Nueva Luz, Conscientious blog and the Forward. Before starting Daylight, Michael spent time at the Annie Leibovitz Studio, Aperture Foundation and Rizzoli International Publications.  His monograph, ‘Street Portraits’, was published by Charta Editions in 2009. 

Mohamed is the Director of Gulf Photo Plus (GPP), a Dubai-based gallery and community organization cultivating visual practices in photography in the UAE, and across the wider MENASA region since 2004. As part of GPP’s commitment to developing visual and critical literacy, the organization engages the community with regular educational and art programming, and for a number of years hosted an annual photography festival that draws international attendance and showcases the world’s preeminent talent in photography. Mohamed is a co-curator of the bi-annual Breda Photo Festival in the Netherlands, and has served as a jury member for various visual arts initiatives notably the prestigious Arab Documentary Photography Program. Mohamed’s pedagogical expertise is broad, from teaching varied photography workshops and designing photo walk experiences across the UAE, to conducting portfolio reviews for Canon’s Student Development program, and leading a capacity building mentorship program for students in the Emirates with Warehouse421, a multidisciplinary arts organisation based in Abu Dhabi.

Mohamed is also the owner and founder of Seeing Things, a photo and video production studio employing a team of talented in-house artists who work primarily on art & culture projects. Our clients include Louvre Abu Dhabi, Alserkal Avenue, Jameel Arts Center, Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, among other regional industry leaders.

He is interested in seeing works that have to do with sociopolitical issues, work by photographers from minority and working class backgrounds.

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.

Natan Dvir is an educator, artist, and editorial photographer.

In his role as the Associate Director of Part-Time Programs at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York between 2021-22, Natan designed and managed creative and flexible programs for American and international students to develop their practice while studying with some of the world’s most accomplished and innovative practitioners. He has taught courses and workshops extensively at ICP and Israel since 2011 focusing on conceptual documentary, street photography, editing & sequencing, and professional best practices.

Natan received his MBA from Tel Aviv University and his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He is Israel’s first Sony Imaging Ambassador and is represented by Polaris Images agency and Anastasia Photo gallery. His award-winning work was exhibited and published extensively during the past 20 yearsby museums, festivals, and leading magazines around the world.

Natan is open to review all themes and photographic genres, but is most interested in long-term projects (finalised or in progress) demonstrating a strong relationship between concept and imagery.

Nicola works as a Producer, Curator, Project Manager, Mentor and Consultant, specialising in photography, and is co-founder and Director of GRAIN Projects. 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.

As Director of GRAIN Projects she leads on commissioning new work, curating exhibitions, developing artist’s and photographer’s training, development and networking opportunities and producing events and symposia. She is interested in working with emerging and established artists and photographers.

Recent projects include collaborations with Photoworks, Creative People & Places – Appetite, New Art Gallery Walsall, Herbert Art Gallery, FORMAT International Photography Festival, Redeye Photography Network, Brighton Photo Fringe, Library of Birmingham and The Hive Arts Centre. She has worked with artists and photographers including Anthony Luvera, Edgar Martins, Indre Serpytyte, Tom Hunter, Mark Power, Helen Marshall, Sam Laughlin, Kate Peters, Arpita Shah and Maryam Wahid.

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.

Ricardo is an author, curator and art writer. He is the Curator and Programme Manager of Aspex Portsmouth and a co-founder of UnderExposed, a photography platform and collective dedicated to encouraging artistic collaboration.

Previous work includes positions at Photoworks, Fabrica Gallery, The Tower of London, Diep-Haven, The De La Warr Pavilion, the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts and being the Deputy Director of Socially Engaged Art Salon where he curated ‘The Force of Fantasy’ in 2019. His writing has been featured in Photomonitor, Typical Girls, the Photoworks Annual, Photography+, and this is tomorrow. During Peckham 24 (2021) he was contracted as production manager for ‘Light’ where under the guidance of Monica Allende, supported the delivery of the exhibition and its catalogue; designed by Sarah Boris and printed by Mörel.

Interested in queer photography, abstract/conceptual photography and installation.

Sarah Gilbert is a photo editor at the Guardian with specific responsibility for features. She spent the previous three years based in NYC as the US picture editor, and is highly experienced in commissioning and producing all types of photo shoots including portraits, news, reportage, fashion and lifestyle across print and digital platforms.

Previously she was a freelance editor working with various publications and a stint as picture editor for Conde Nast.

Sarah’s specific areas of interest are reportage and projects based around reportage, social issues, and above all, human stories.

She is NOT interested in fashion or fine art photography.

Stephen Burke is a photographer, artist and creative producer living and working in Birmingham, UK.   

He is the Project Producer for GRAIN Projects, and is experienced in commissioning new work, artist development, exhibitions, publications, public art and socially engaged projects. He has worked with a broad range of artists & photographers including; Julian Germain, Anthony Luvera, Arpita Shah, Nilupa Yasmin, Maryam Wahid, Murray Ballard, Emily Graham, Polly Braden, Lydia Goldblatt, Sam Laughlin, Kate Peters, Stuart Whipps, Marco Kesseler and Chris Hoare.  

Stephen studied BA Photography at Falmouth University graduating in 2012 and completed an MA in Documentary Photography & Photojournalism at Westminster University in 2017. He is a Visiting Lecturer at Birmingham City University.

He is interested in all work, particularly in: Documentary Photography, Socially Engaged Practice, Collaborative Practices, Community Engagement, Portraiture, Editorial. Stephen is keen to support emerging artists & photographers. 

Steven is a curator, writer, artist and executive director of the award-winning arts organization FotoFest, based in Houston, Texas. FotoFest created the first and longest running international biennial of photography and lens-based art in the U.S. He is responsible for the artistic direction of FotoFest, its exhibitions, programs, and Biennial. Among many exhibitions organized for FotoFest and other venues, Steven co-curated the FotoFest Biennial 2022 central exhibition “If I Had a Hammer”, the FotoFest Biennial 2018 central exhibition “India: Contemporary Photographic and New Media Art” and the FotoFest Biennial 2016 central exhibition “Changing Circumstances: Looking at the Future of the Planet.” He co-edited the related hardcover books “If I Had a Hammer,” “INDIA,” and “Changing Circumstances,” as well as recent FotoFest publications “Velvet Generation” (2019) and “African Cosmologies: Photography, Time, and the Other” (2020).

He represents FotoFest at photography events around the world, including Argentina, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Great Britain, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, and South Korea. Prior to FotoFest, Evans worked with a wide range of artists and collaborators in New York and San Antonio, Texas. His curatorial work incorporates a range of approaches with a focus on photography, moving image, and new media art.

Steven is looking for bodies of work with well-defined purpose, fully formed or near completion, either in still photographs, video or new media.

Vivienne is Founder and Director of Seen Fifteen and Peckham 24 – two organisations at the forefront of contemporary photography in Peckham, South London.

Seen Fifteen hosts a dynamic programme of exhibitions dedicated to the work of contemporary photographers, with a specialist focus on photography’s “Expanded Field” and artists who push the boundaries of the medium.  Artists working with Seen Fifteen include Maya Rochat, Laura El-Tantawy, Alexander Mourant and Martin Seeds.  Originally from Northern Ireland, Vivienne has recently initiated a curatorial project, The Troubles Generation, examining the legacy of The Troubles through the work of artists brought up during or in the aftermath of the conflict.   The series has so far included solo exhibitions of work by Martin Seeds, Gareth McConnell and Audrey Blue.

Vivienne is also Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Peckham 24 festival.  Launched in 2016, Peckham 24 has been firmly established as a must-see part of the programme of events that celebrate photography city-wide during Photo London.  With a focus on supporting new talent and experimental artists working with photography, the festival creates a vibrant takeover of a number of warehouse and gallery spaces across Copeland Park and Bussey Building in the heart of Peckham’s artistic scene.

Yining graduated from LCC, University of the Arts London and is a curator and writer of photography. Her work is principally focused on the way in which photography is able to freely straddle the boundaries of art, responding to and raising questions about contemporary and historical social issues through effective, diverse, and interdisciplinary means. Yining’s exhibitions have been held in museums, art spaces, and photography festivals in China and Europe including: the 3rd Beijing Photo Biennale (2018, CAFA Art Museum, Beizhen Cultural Industries Center), The Port and The Image: Documenting China’s Harbor Cities” (2017, China Port Museum), A Fictional Narrative Turn (2016, Jimei Arles International Photo Festival) and 50 Contemporary Photobooks from China 2009-2014 (2015, FORMAT15 Festival, UK).

Her publications include Photography in the British Classroom, and The Port and the Image.

In the last five years, Yining has been looking into the effectiveness, diversity and interdisciplinary of practitioners’ use of photography as a medium when responding to and proposing social issues related to history and the present. As a reviewer, she is good at discussing the works with practitioners who encounter problems in the project progress and helping them push the project forward. As a curator, Yining is happy to find photographers from all over the world to expand her research framework and hopes to provide opportunities for photographers to show in China. She is looking forward to seeing artists from all disciplines, both emerging and established. She is not interested in seeing fashion and commercial work.

Yumi is an independent photography curator, editor, researcher, consultant, educator, and publisher who focuses on the development of cultural exchanges that transcend borders. 
 
She collaborates with local and international artists who live and work in areas affected by conflict, natural disasters, current social problems, human rights abuses, and women’s issues. She often works with human rights advocates, international and local NGOs, humanitarian organizations and as well as being involved as a nominator and juror for the international photographic organizations, festivals, and events. 
 
She is now based in Tokyo and also a co-founder and curator for the Reminders Photography Stronghold which is a curated membership gallery space in Tokyo enabling a wide range of photographic activities. In addition to the RPS in Tokyo, in November of 2020, she established a new RPS offshoot “PAPEROLES” in Kyoto and will lead a full-fledged activity. 

Yumi is more interested in visual story-telling, the work created with good research, with multiple layers to visualise the subject matter. She is interested in looking at images and talking about how they could develop the work, new approaches or alternative ideas for doing more, so all are welcome if the artists are open for the input. Some might be interested in photobook making, that Yumi could only talk about from her experience but not from the photobook industry in general.

Working globally, Dr Alasdair is a writer, curator, academic and publisher of the online photography resource Talking Pictures. He was previously founding director of Fotofeis, the international festival of photo-based art in Scotland (1991–1997), director of the Australian Centre for Photography (1998–2011), editor of ‘Photofile’ magazine, and president of the Contemporary Art Organisations of Australia.

Until he retired in 2022, he was Professor of Culture in Community Wellbeing in the Faculty of Medicine at The University of Queensland, Brisbane, and an adjunct professor in the School of Art at RMIT University, Melbourne.  

 Alasdair is interested in viewing work with a clear sense of purpose and a strong personal signature that seeks to communicate out into the world rather than simply express purely personal concerns. 

Amelie is head of public practice at Foam. Her work focuses on the intersection between artistic production, culture, and society. Current projects include the in-depth online programming ‘On Assignment – How to Navigate the Media Industry’, the solo show Double Portrait by Cemre Yesil at the project space MAQAM, and Foam Talks, a monthly podcast focussing on contemporary photography and visual culture. From 2018 to early 2020, she was a curator at Unseen Amsterdam. Amelie regularly participates in portfolio reviews and mentorship programs for emerging photographers. She also guest teaches at different art academies.

Amelie is interested in seeing conceptual work, documentary photography and multimedia approaches.

**The first 4 reviews of the day will be with Winke Wiegersma, Digital Curator at Foam.**

Ângela a.k.a “Berlinde” is an artist and independent curator, with PHD studies in photography from Universidade do Minho, Portugal and Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Ângela is Co-Founder of the Portuguese PhotoFestival Encontros da Imagem, an International Photography Festival in Braga Portugal. She has commissioned contemporary photography throughout Europe and Latin American countries, particularly in Brazil. Currently she is artistic advisor of the FotoFestival SOLAL and counselor of the Photography Program at the Secretary State of Culture of Ceará, and curator member of  Photographic Museum of Fortaleza, Brazil.

She is especially interested in documentary and photo essays as well artists working on the intersection of photography and other media to include in the European and Latin American institutions and festivals.

Anne is the Director of Impressions Gallery, a charity that helps people understand the world through photography, and act as an agent for change. She is the 2022 recipient of the Royal Photographic Society Curatorship Award, which recognises excellence over a period of time in the field of photographic curatorship, through exhibitions and associated events and publications. Anne’s current research includes environmental responsibility and sustainable practices within photography.

Anne is interested in seeing work across all genres (documentary, portraiture, landscape, to name just a few) that explores considered issues such as identity, race, gender, politics, and sustainable practices

Photo by Carolyn Mendelsohn

Baiba Tetere is a researcher of visual culture, lecturer at Riga Stradiņš University and Head of the Latvian Museum of Photography. As a co-founder of the ISSP association, she has regularly organised photography education and art projects since 2006. Her career intersects the history, education and commercial fields of photography – she has worked at the Latvian Museum of Photography (2000 – 2002), the Latvian State Archive of Cinematographic and Photophono Documents (2008) and as photo editor at the international monthly magazine Cosmopolitan (2002 – 2007). Baiba studied History of Photography at De Montfort University, England, and obtained her doctorate from the University of Greifswald, Germany, where she studied early anthropological photography in Latvia in the late 19^th century.

Baiba is interested in all kind of production and creative reflections in the field of photography; always looking at the relationships between past and present and contemporary ways of engaging with archival images.

Image credit: Ailsa Bowyer

 Camilla Brown is a curator, writer and educator on contemporary art, specialising in photography based in the Derbyshire. For ten years she was Senior curator at The Photographers’ Gallery, London previously she was Exhibitions Curator at Tate Liverpool. She is now Programme Leader of the MA Photography focussing on issues of social justice at Middlesex University. Her writing on contemporary photography is regularly published in books and magazines. She also works as a mentor and consultant supporting artists and photographers with their professional development. She is currently working with the School of Life commissioning photography for a number of forthcoming books.

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 rural / landscape projects and work around social justice.

Cindy is a Curator, Cultural Producer and Writer currently based in Nottingham, UK.

She studied Communication, Media & Cultural Mediation at University Paris 8, France (2014), including a fully funded year Erasmus studying at Panteion University in Athens, Greece. She also did a Master’s in Cultural Events Management (2015) at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

She is the Curator and Special Projects Producer at the New Art Exchange, the largest contemporary art space in the UK focusing on underrepresented practices in the arts.

Cindy previously worked at Nottingham Contemporary in the Exhibitions and Public Programmes departments (2017-2018). She is also part of a Nottingham-based collective, SheAfriq, a group of creative Black women that programme a diverse range of events in and out of institutions to reclaim their space within the city.

Photo Credit: Richard Chung

Claire is Festival Director at Photo Fringe, co-director of Corridor and independent curator and producer. Committed to supporting lens-based artists and curators especially amplifying those voices from the fringe, Claire is particularly excited by creating new ways to connect artists with audiences and co-producing unique encounters in unexpected spaces. 
 
Projects include: Photo Fringe 2022: Real Utopias; @fleshandblood___ (ongoing); Days of Wonder (2022); Altered (2021); Photo Fringe (2020); In Focus with Anna Farley (2019); Peckham 24 (Photoworks, 2019); Brighton Photo Biennial (2018); two editions of the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards (Photoworks, 2017-19); Brighton Photo Fringe (2016); HOUSE Biennial (2014 – 2017); Ex-offenders with David Goldblatt (Multistory, 2012-2013); Pictures from America: Rochester (Magnum, 2012); Open for Business (Multistory and Magnum Photos, 2011-2012); Black Country Stories with Martin Parr (Multistory, 2011-2014); various at The Public (2003-2008); Radio:Active Handsworth (2002).

Photo by Zoltan Borovics.

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.

Francesca is the Visual Editor of Global PhotoVogue and co-curator of PhotoVogue Festival (2016-2022), the first conscious fashion photography festival dedicated to the common ground between ethics and aesthetics.

In 2018, she curated a series of talks on contemporary photography for the Affordable Art Fair (Milan), co-curated the exhibition “Italian Panorama” at Armani/Silos (Milan), and was a juror of the Ooshot Award (Paris). She was a portfolio reviewer of the Blink Portfolio Review (New York, 2018-2019), juror of Photolucida’s Critical Mass (2018-2022) and Fresh Eyes (2019-2021). In 2019 she took part in “Scouting for India” (Mumbai), Vogue Talents’ project in collaboration with FAD International Academy, co-curated the photography exhibition “Future Shock” (Milan) and was guest editor of Personne magazine (ISSUE 02).

In 2020 she was a juror of the PHmuseum 2020 Mobile Photo Prize, Photoville FENCE and did portfolio reviews for Eddie Adams Portfolio Review, Perimetro Collective Review and Italy Photo Award. In 2021 she was a member of the jury of LensCulture Portrait Awards and did portfolio reviews for Fotografia Europea – Reggio Emilia, SI Fest – Savignano sul Rubicone, Eddie Adams Workshop and PhMuseum Days.

Francesca regularly collaborates with several photography festivals and schools as portfolio reviewer and lecturer.

As art director she has curated advertising campaigns for Benetton, Huawei, Yuzen and special projects for Off-White, Audi, Diesel, Dyson, Mazda, Martini, Natuzzi, Regione Puglia, Sensai, Xiaomi.

Francesca would like to see reportage work.

Gemma Padley is a writer and editor on photography. She has written for British Journal of Photography, the RPS Journal, AnOthermag.com, Elephant magazine, Photomonitor, Foam, The Telegraph, Time LightBox, the BBC, Port and 1000 Words, among others. Gemma has also written and contributed to several books on photography, among them, Look At This If You Love Great Photography (Ivy Press, 2021), Into The Wild (Laurence King, 2021), Joel Meyerowitz: How I Make Photographs (Laurence King, 2020) and 1001 Photographs You Must See Before You Die (Cassell, 2017). She is currently working on a book with Hoxton Mini Press due for release in spring 2022. Her most recent publication is New Photography of the Bird published by Hoxton Mini Press. 

Gemma also works directly with photographers, artists, curators, gallerists and agencies on texts of all kinds, including forewords, wall texts, image captions, website copy, project statements, biographies and essays. She is particularly interested in innovative approaches to documentary and fashion photography, as well as work that exists at the intersection between these genres. Projects on environmental issues and sustainability are also of interest. In addition, Gemma enjoys discussing how images and text can be used in imaginative, immersive ways, whether on a digital platform, in book form or in a physical exhibition space. 

Giangavino Pazzola has a Ph.D. in Urban and Cultural Studies at Politecnico of Turin.

He is associate curator at CAMERA – Centro Italiano per la Fotografia (Turin) since 2018, where he oversees research projects such as FUTURES Photography, the European platform for the promotion of emerging artists. He is curator for the Photography and Moving Images section at Artefiera Bologna and works with Italian and foreign organizations and institutions, for which he curates projects and exhibitions.

Giangavino has written several research on the contemporary arts practices and has published a book on independent cultural production centres (GAI, 2017), as well as papers in Italian and foreign academic journals. He currently teaches Aesthetics at the European Design Institute (IED) in Turin.

**Gionanni will be reviewing with Stella Nantongo**

Giovanni is a Ugandan self-taught photographer and graphic designer based in Kampala, Uganda. A die-hard traveler and coffee connoisseur, his work evolves around commercial portraiture, documentary and travel photography. Giovanni has worked with the Uganda Press Photo Award (UPPA) as a judge for their Young Photographer Award and a mentor with the Emerging Photographer Mentorship program.

Holly Roussell is a curator, museologist, and art historian specialising in photography and contemporary art from East Asia based between Switzerland and China. Since 2021, she is a curator with the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing. Roussell previously served as coordinator of both the worldwide travelling exhibitions program for the Musée de l’Elysée and the photography prize, the Prix Elysée, from 2013-2017.

Since 2013, Roussell has worked as an independent curator organizing more than 20 group and solo exhibitions for festivals, biennale, and museums around the world such as: Folkwang Museum, DE; MUCEM, Marseille, FR; Les Rencontres d’Arles, FR;  Somerset House, London, UK; NGV Melbourne, AUS; Lianzhou Photography Festival, CN; Shanghai Centre of Photography, CN; Auckland Art Gallery, NZ; Fotografiska, USA/SE; MMCA: Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, SK and other venues. Recently in China, Roussell notably co-curated the major group travelling exhibition, “Civilization: The Way We Live Now”, exhibited at UCCA in 2018, Shenzhen Independent Animation Biennale (OCT-Loft Shenzhen, 2018), as well as “Stars 1979” with Dr. Wu Hung (OCAT Research Institute, 2020). She has contributed as author to a number of exhibition catalogues, artist books and international publications on photography. Presently, she is collaborating with Pixy Liao on the artist’s first museum solo exhibition tour with Fotografiska. In 2022, Roussell will join the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea as International Curatorial Researcher in residence.

A note to artists: As a curator and museum professional, I consider portfolio reviews a crucial moment to meet photographers and connect with individuals beyond one’s own network. I am excited to meet with artists at all career stages. Please feel free to approach our review as a first meeting and virtual studio visit, or, as an opportunity to bounce around ideas together in a concrete manner about a series edit, potential installation or publication.

Photo by Eugene Hyland.

James Estrin is a New York Times staff photographer and writer. He was a founder of Lens, The New York Times photography blog. Estrin was part of a team that won a 2001 Pulitzer Prize for “How Race Is Lived In America.”He is also the co-executive producer of the documentary film “Underfire: The Untold Story of Pfc. Tony Vaccaro” which appeared on HBO in November 2016. He is also an adjunct professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.

James is happy to see anything. He is most interested in documentary and journalistic work that employs innovative approaches to storytelling.

Jens Friis (MA, History of Photographic Art) was curator in charge of the photographic collection of Museet for Fotokunst, Odense (Denmark) as well as the artistic co-director of the photo festival FotoTriennale.dk initiated by same museum from 2003-2016. During this period he was also the editor of the bilingual and internationally recognized journal KATALOG, which he has continued personally since 2015. Now in its 33rd year with an editorial “flexi-board”, contributors and subscribers from all over the world, KATALOG is also an international platform for projects such as Nordic Photo Festival Network, the Creative Europe partnership Parallel and most recently the international Fast Forward – Women in Photography launched at Paris Photo and Tate Modern in 2019. KATALOG has cooperated with the festivals in Cardiff, Glasgow, Houston, Landskrona, Lisbon, e.a. As an author, he has written numerous articles for KATALOG, other journals and several introductions. He has contributed to anthologies i.e. Danish Photographic History (2004) and The History of European Photography 1970-2000 (2016). Aiding the advancement of new talents, he has served on international nominating committees for awards such as Photo Lucida (Seattle), Voies Off (Arles), Kolga Tbilisi (Georgia) as well as on the advisory committee of the Spanish magazine EXIT.

He is interested in all types of photographic art. Since his debut as a portfolio reviewer at FotoFest in 2004, he has participated in more than 70 festivals and seminars sharing his knowledge, advice and connections, but also gathering valuable material for exhibitions and future issues of the journal.

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

Julia is the Curator at Photoworks, responsible for developing Photoworks Festival (formerly Brighton Photo Biennial) and other curatorial programmes such as the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards and the Photoworks Annual, an influential journal on photography and visual culture.

Having obtained her MA in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art, Julia previously worked as the Assistant Curator of the Triennial of Photography where she was responsible for the festival hub including exhibitions of international and national artists. Prior to that, Julia was curatorial assistant at Deichtorhallen House of Photography, one of Germany’s largest exhibition spaces for photography.

In her current role at Photoworks, Julia is interested in work that engages with timely social, political and postcolonial issues through a range of documentary and conceptual approaches. Her recent curatorial project includes ‘Photoworks Festival: Propositions for Alternative Narratives’ (2020).

Julia will be reviewing on Friday morning only.

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.

Lee Elkins is the founder and Creative Director of The Lost Light Recordings. Established in 2018, Lost Light Recordings is an independent publisher that works with photographers to realise projects through the medium of the photobook. The books he has created under the imprint since 2018, including Cian Oba-Smith’s Andover & Six Acres, Sadie Catt’s Woodstock and the forthcoming Harrowdown Hill by John Spinks, explore the political landscape and its effect on people and place.

Passionate about creating authentic expressions of photographers’ work, Elkins collaborates creatively with both established photographic artists and new talent to create distinctive photobooks. Elkins manages the whole process of creating a book with intense detail: from the editing down and sequencing of photographs with the artist, the graphic design, materiality, personally overseeing the printing, to hand binding the books. This attention to detail calls on Elkins conviction that a photobook is more than a book of photographs, which in the right hands can become a complex intellectual dialogue between photographer and reader and his experience as a master bookbinder in the printing industry. Elkins worked as a bookbinder for twenty years in Frome, Somerset, for one of the UK’s most significant printers before gaining a first class BA (Hons) in Photography from the University of the West of England and an MA in Photography and the Book from Plymouth University.

Lee Elkins is Senior Lecturer in Photography at the University of the West of England, Bristol.

Lee has an interest in any project that plays with narrative, any book work, images and text and documentary.

Currently Louise leads a national and international contemporary arts and photography programme across 1500 forests, working at the forefront of the global climate crisis and exploring the vital intersection between art, science and biodiversity, at Forestry England, including Earth Photo. Previously Louise was Artistic Director of QUAD, a center for contemporary art and film for 20 years. Director of FORMAT International Photography Festival for 18 years, which she co-founded in 2004, currently Patron of FORMAT. 

An independent curator since 1998 directing commissions, publications, performances and exhibitions. A Guest Curator for international exhibitions/festivals including Dong Gang (Yeongwol) South Korea; Photoquai Biennale Musée du quai Branly Paris; Les Rencontres Arles, Discoveries; Dali Photo, China; Venice Biennale EM15; Photo Beijing, and LishuiPhoto China; Korea International Photo Festival.  An international award nominator, she has also contributed to numerous publications as producer/writer/editor and a regular juror, portfolio reviewer, speaker in Europe, America, Africa & Asia. 

Markéta is a director of Fotograf Gallery, Festival and editor-in-chief of Fotograf Magazine based in Prague. She has ongoing experience as a portfolio reviewer or jury member for different competitions. She is also an independent artist working with photography as a tool of conceptual art. Her author’s book What You See Is What You Think was published as the artistic part of the doctoral thesis under the title Oppositional Reading of Public Space, which she defended at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague in 2019. She studied photography at the Faculty of Art and Design at the Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic. She is the head of the Documentary Photography Studio at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) since 2016. She attended several artists residencies as in Centro de la Imagen – FONCA, Mexico city, Mexico and Artist in residence, Rotor – Association for Contemporary Art, Graz, Austria.

Fotograf Magazine is a periodical mapping the world of contemporary photography. Every four months comes out special-themed issue dedicated to photography, visual culture and contemporary art. Fotograf Gallery is space dedicated to solo exhibition projects of contemporary art artists using medium of photography as well as artist with photographic background. Fotograf Festival is annual occasion to meet special-themed and curated photographic exhibitions in Prague as well as professionals, theoreticians and artists passionate about the medium.

Markéta is the most interested in reviewing conceptual art projects, experimental projects, public art projects, documentary photography crossing boarder of its classical attitude. She is also interested in independent publishing, artists books and zines. As an magazine editor and festival co-founder she is interested in wide range of approaches in sense of depiction world around us in a distinctive way.

**Meredith will be reviewing with Phoebe Weinstein**

Meredith studied media, culture, and the arts at The King’s College, and worked for an international fine art gallery for years before joining Fotografiska New York’s exhibition team. With a fine arts background, Meredith approaches photography through a multidisciplinary lens, seeking to tell new stories and reveal fresh perspectives. Some of the most notable exhibitions she’s curated are ONYX by photographer Adrienne Raquel, prepare my heart by multidisciplinary artist Kia LaBeija, and Milked in Africa by photographer Tony Gum.  

Fotografiska New York is the NYC location of the renowned Stockholm-based museum for the world’s best photography. Founded in 2010, Fotografiska was built on the foundation of photography as a haven for inclusivity and free expression. 

Interested in artists with a unique narrative or conceptual approach, a strong visual style, and timely point of view. Also interested in seeing work from artists with an expansive photographic practice that spans mediums and disciplines. Not interested in commercial work. 

Michael has been CEO of the Belfast Photo Festival for thirteen years, and initiated as well as curated numerous commissions on exhibitions of contemporary art with a particular focus on photography. He curates a varied programme of artist talks, symposiums, residencies, workshops, films and exhibitions per year, which has previously included artists such as Ai Wei Wei, Alec Soth, Roger Ballen and Robert Mapplethorpe. He nominates and judges for a number of international awards, including the ICP Infinity Awards (New York) and SIFEST (Bologna), as well as reviews internationally.

*TO BOOK WITH MICHAEL, SELECT A REVIEW WITH BELFAST PHOTO FESTIVAL. MICHAEL WILL BE REVIEWING ON THURSDAY MORNING ONLY*

Niamh is Curator & Coordinator for FORMAT International Photography Festival and has been with the organisation for nearly three years. During this time she has reviewed internationally for organisations such as Belfast Photography Festival, Uganda Press Photo and LCC and has juried open calls for FORMAT, UPPA, Zealous and the United Rugby Championship. Niamh is part of the FORMAT and QUAD curatorial team curating shows both internationally and nationally such as; un/natural, Lishui Photography Festival (2021), Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards, QUAD (2021), #massisolationFORMAT, Derby Museum and Art Gallery (2021); FUTURE FOCUS, QUAD Gallery (2022) and Bruce Asbestos, Eye of Newt 2.0, QUAD (2022).

**To Book with Niamh, select Peter Bonnell on booking system**

**Phoebe will be reviewing with Meredith Breech**

Phoebe was raised in London and educated in New York at Parsons School of Design. With a background in film and photography, Phoebe is interested in the power of storytelling through still and moving imagery.  

She is an Exhibitions Manager at Fotografiska New York. Fotografiska New York is the NYC location of the renowned Stockholm-based museum for the world’s best photography. Founded in 2010, Fotografiska was built on the foundation of photography as a haven for inclusivity and free expression. 

Interested in artists with a unique narrative or conceptual approach, a strong visual style, and timely point of view. Also interested in seeing work from artists with an expansive photographic practice that spans mediums and disciplines. Not interested in commercial work.

Tanvi works with images as a photo editor, curator, and writer based in New Delhi, India. Among her interests are South Asian visual histories, research methodologies in image-making as well as the notion of fiction in photography, particularly in the current political landscape. 

She has served as the Creative Director of The Caravan, a journal of politics and culture published out of Delhi. She is part of the photo-editorial team of PIX, a South Asian publication and display practice. She works as an independent curator and has been part of the curatorial teams of Photo Kathmandu, Delhi Photo Festival and BredaPhoto.  

Her writing on photography has been published in various platforms including Aperture, FOAM and The Caravan. Tanvi has served on multiple juries, including World Press Photo, Chennai Photo Biennale Photo Awards and the Catchlight Global Fellowship. She is currently part of the first international advisory committee of World Press Photo. She has recently been appointed as curator for the Louis Roederer Discovery award for the 2023 edition of Recontres d’Arles.  

Tanvi is interested in seeing projects with relevance to politics, society and culture. Medium can be anywhere from traditional documentary to visual research to contemporary/experimental practice, as long as there is a comment on society as well as imagined futures. Not interested in pure aesthetic experiments, fashion or fine art photography.

Photo Credit: Aditya Kapoor

Ute works internationally in the broad field of photography as photo director, editor, publisher, curator, author and university lecturer. She offers her extensive expertise and her long-term experience under the one roof of her project Agency UTE NOLL VISUAL PROJECTS, based in Stuttgart. Her gallery UNO ART SPACE focusses on international photography. Since 2013, she is also the photo director at Du Magazine, Zurich and also responsible for putting together the entire Magazine.

Ute founded her gallery UNO ART SPACE in Stuttgart 2007. Since then she has shown about 40 shows with international photographers, also Fotofest discoveries.  She has been a judge for competitions such as Lianzhou Punctum Photography Award & Jury Special Prize, 2016, Unicef Photo of the Year Award since 2017, Swiss Press Photo, 2018, Stiftungspreis Fotokunst 2020 Alison und Peter Klein Stiftung Stiftungspreis Fotokunst 2020 Alison und Peter Klein Stiftung Stuttgart, 2020 und 2023. Stuttgart, 2020 and 2023.

With her diverse background, Ute can offer profound, individual and in-depth feedback for completed projects as well as for works in progress. She is not interested in seeing commercial, nude or landscape photography. She is most interested in fresh and contemporary approaches, documentary and fine art and prefers work, which is strong in concept and/or narrative and also in careful and aesthetic execution. If appropriate, Ute considers work for exhibitions, gallery shows and publications. However, she makes no commitments during the reviews on site but comes back to these artists later.

Varun is an editor and researcher with an interest in photography’s global and postcolonial histories. He’s currently based in New York, where he’s the assistant editor at Aperture magazine. Varun was previously with the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, where he worked closely with the photography department and served as the lead editor of the museum’s multidisciplinary Indian art encyclopedia project. His writing has appeared in FOAM, Words Without Borders, Himal Southasian, National Geographic, and Pacific Standard, among other catalogues and books, including, most recently, a volume exploring the photographic practice of the Indian modernist Jyoti Bhatt. 

He is open to seeing a range of portfolios, but does have a particular interest in work that has a strong narrative framework, where the intention, approach, and perspective is somewhat clear. Due to his background, he could potentially also be a helpful resource for photographers working within/from the South Asian context.   

**Stella will be reviewing with Giovanni Okot**

Stella is the programme coordinator at the Uganda Press Photo Award, where she manages the Awards and oversees a busy calendar of talks, workshops and discussions.

As part of this role she also collaborates with the FOTEA Foundation, which is the organiser of the UPPA, and oversees the Award’s integration with FOTEA’s broader educational programme and its strategic aims.

As well as her role with UPPA, Stella has assisted in the production of independent photography exhibitions as well as grants and other activities. She also occasionally serves as a reviewer for photography competitions such as Market Photo Workshop’s JUSTPHOTO contest.

A former magazine employee, Stella is passionate about helping emerging photographers in Uganda and the broader region to expand their technical skills and broaden their understanding of the medium in order to tell better stories.She believes that continued learning and conversations around photography is key to giving diverse voices a role in shaping the region’s socio-economic and political discourse.

Stella and Anna are open-minded but particularly interested in work originating from or engaging with the African continent. They are also keen on seeing work responding to topics of resistance, authoritarianism, marginalized communities and diverse viewpoints.

Stephen Burke is a photographer, artist and creative producer living and working in Birmingham, UK.   

He is the Project Producer for GRAIN Projects, and is experienced in commissioning new work, artist development, exhibitions, publications, public art and socially engaged projects. He has worked with a broad range of artists & photographers including; Julian Germain, Anthony Luvera, Arpita Shah, Nilupa Yasmin, Maryam Wahid, Murray Ballard, Emily Graham, Polly Braden, Lydia Goldblatt, Sam Laughlin, Kate Peters, Stuart Whipps, Marco Kesseler and Chris Hoare.  

Stephen studied BA Photography at Falmouth University graduating in 2012 and completed an MA in Documentary Photography & Photojournalism at Westminster University in 2017. He is a Visiting Lecturer at Birmingham City University.

He is interested in all work, particularly in: Documentary Photography, Socially Engaged Practice, Collaborative Practices, Community Engagement, Portraiture, Editorial. Stephen is keen to support emerging artists & photographers. 

Vincent is a researcher and curator focusing on photographic and archival practices, particularly in and from South Asia. His work is rooted in collaborative practices, centring process alongside outcome and mobilising the exhibition form to explore complex and multi-layered narratives.

He won the FORMAT Festival Open Call Award in 2021, with a curated group exhibition entitled COLLABORATION > CONTROL; and curated the Archive of Public Protests and Turbine Bagh exhibitions for the 2021 edition of Peckham 24 together with Iona Fergusson, with whom he also convened the festival’s talks and events programme. For the 2022 edition of Peckham 24, he curated Rohit Saha’s 1528, as well as the talks programme, again in collaboration with Iona Fergusson. Subsequent projects include a group exhibition curated with ZONE 6 Press for London Design Festival, and a presentation of Offset Projects’ Guftgu publication at Photobook Cafe.

Vincent is a MPhil/PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at UCL, where his research focuses on  archival and museological strategies, looking at their relationships to collective memory and narrations of history. His research is fully funded by the London Arts and Humanities Partnership (AHRC).

Vincent is interested in discussing projects that have a clear sense of narrative. He is interested in seeing work across a range of genres. He is just as interested in ongoing work-in-progress projects as finished ones. Given his dual research/curatorial focus, he is also happy to discuss image/text, research practice in photography, and project development more broadly. A further area of interest is book projects and independent publishing.

Photo by Munem Wasif.

Wang is the Director and Curator of Lishui Photography Festival. Lishui Photography Festival is an international photography celebration co-hosted by Lishui Municipal People’s Government and China Photographers Association (CPA). As China’s only photographic celebration named as “photography festival” by the State Council, it has been held for ten consecutive sessions since the year of 2004. The goal of the festival is “to create a well-known city of photography, to expand international exchanges, and to show the charm of Lishui”.

Wang is also the Director of China Photographers Association, a Member of Curator Committee of China Photographers Association.

Lishui have partnered with FORMAT for a number of years and often showcase FORMAT photographers’ work at their festival. Wang will be reviewing with Isabella Xueke Wang who is the Head of the International Department. They will also be joined by a translator.

Winke Wiegersma is curator, creative researcher and web developer in the photographic and artistic field. She holds an MSc in Media Technology from the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS – Leiden University) and developed her curatorial practice at one of Amsterdam’s renowned photography galleries (Elliott Gallery).

As the Curator of Digital Programmes at Foam, she is responsible for curating and producing the museum’s online programmes and exhibitions. Recently, she has been leading the Foam Talent Digital programme, translating the 20 portfolios into the digital space through an interactive online exhibition, focussing on contextualisation and hybrid connections. Winke brings a unique perspective to her role, blending the borders between art, science, and technology and visualizing stories in experimental ways.

She is interested in seeing multi-media works, documentary or archive-based works.

**Winke will be doing the first 4 reviews of the day, select Amelie to see Winke**