New East Photo Weekend

Is this for me?

Spread over two days, the New East Photo Weekend brings together leading photographers, artists and curators to share their experience and ideas with emerging practitioners. Open to photographers of all ages keen to develop their practice, the programme will cover the essential steps to becoming an independent member of the professional photographic community while championing excellence from across Eastern Europe.

The weekend complements the 2016 New East Photo Prize Exhibition and features a packed schedule of masterclasses, panel discussions, one-on-one portfolio reviews and print swaps. Come along to brush up your photography skills, network with like-minded people and get practical advice from industry experts.

Why should I attend?

The weekend offers practical insight about contemporary photography as a medium and a rapidly changing industry. The masterclasses, delivered by leading experts in the field, will look at both the creative aspects of a photographer’s work and their commercial implications in an increasingly competitive environment.

The New East Photo Weekend will provide an exciting opportunity to develop core professional skills in image-making, while offering access to a broad range of international expertise. Events will be led by industry experts such as Roger Tooth, Head of Photography at the Guardian, artists Taus Makchacheva and Alexander Gronsky, and Kate Bush, Head of Photography at the Science Museum’s Media Space.

Confirmed speakers include:

Kate Bush – Head of Photography at Media Space/Science Museum and the National Media Museum, former Head of Arts Galleries at the Barbican

Roger Tooth – Head of Photography at the Guardian and the Observer

Alexander Gronsky – Internationally acclaimed photographer, recipient of the Aperture Portfolio Prize and the World Press Photo 3rd place award for Daily Life stories

Taus Makhacheva – Award-winning multimedia artist based between Moscow and Makhachkala in Dagestan

Ekow Eshun – Award-winning journalist and broadcaster. Creative Director of Calvert 22 Foundation, former director of the ICA London

Kate O’Neill – Marketing & Partnerships Manager at Metro Imaging as well as co-founder of TheOGC and The Precursor Project.

Lola Paprocka – London-based photographer, curator, publisher and art director. Founder of Palm* publishing house.

Michał Sierakowski – Award-winning Polish photographer born in 1992, based in Warsaw, and a student at the University of Arts in Poznań, Poland.

Katja Chernova – Founder of Ti Pi Tin, the bookstore dedicated to selling, supporting and promoting publications made by artists.

Friday 2 December

Panel discussion: Visualising the New East, 6.30pm – 8pm

Doors open from 4pm

How to visualise the New East with Ekow Eshun, Alexander Gronsky, Taus Makhacheva and Michal Sierakowski

The New East Photo Weekend will kick off with a panel discussion chaired by Calvert 22 Foundation’s Creative Director, Ekow Eshun, on how to go beyond outdated images of Eastern Europe and create new visual representations of an underexplored region.

The discussion will be preceded by a drinks and networking reception, with doors opening from 4pm for registration. You will also have the chance to participate in an exclusive guided tour of the New East Photo Prize Exhibition led by Calvert 22 Foundation’s Programme Manager, Will Strong.

Saturday 3 December

Masterclasses include:

How to Curate a Photography Show, with Kate Bush

One of the most distinguished photography curators in the UK, Kate Bush, will share her insights about contemporary photography from a curatorial point of view, and will give tips to photographers who would like to get their work exhibited.

Kate Bush — Head of Photography at Media Space/Science Museum and the National Media Museum. Kate Bush is a leading curator specialising in international art and photography. Her recent project at Media Space, Gathered Leaves: Photographs by Alec Soth, was named best photography exhibition of 2015 by the Guardian. Kate’s previous roles include Head of Art Galleries at the Barbican (2005 – 2013) and Head of Programming at The Photographers’ Gallery (1997 – 2004.) She has also judged a number of international prizes including the Turner Prize (Tate, London), the Hasselblad Award (the Hasselblad Foundation, Gothenburg) and the Spectrum Prize (Sprengel Museum, Hannover).

What Does it Mean to be a Photojournalist Today, with Roger Tooth

Roger Tooth, Head of Photography at the Guardian and Observer, will look at how photojournalism has developing in recent years and how new technologies are affecting the work of the photo desk at The Guardian.

Roger Tooth – Head of Photography at the Guardian and Observer. Roger Tooth studied photography at the Regent Street School of Photography in the early 1970s and joined the Guardian in 1988. In 2001 Roger became Head of Photography at the Guardian, and in 2008 he took up his current position as Head of Photography for the Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk. In 2010, Roger edited Eyewitness Decade, published by Guardian Books.

How to find a Balance Between Art and Society in Documentary Photography, with Alexander Gronsky

Critically-acclaimed photographer Alexander Gronsky will tackle the most challenging question that every documentary maker faces: what artistic methods to choose to develop an impactful social statement?

Alexander Gronsky – Landscape photographer, recipient of the Aperture Portfolio Prize and the World Press Photo 3rd place award for Daily Life stories. Currently based in Riga, Latvia, Alexander is known for his photographs of Russian landscapes, which have been showcased in solo exhibitions internationally and been published in his book, Pastoral. Alexander’s works have also been published in numerous international newspapers and magazines such as The Sunday Times, Esquire, Le Monde, Vanity Fair and Der Spiegel.

How to Create a Multimedia Installation, with Taus Makhacheva

Artist Taus Makhacheva will take you through a step-by-step process of conceiving, researching and producing an award-winning artwork.

Taus Makhacheva – Artist, winner of the 6th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art Foundation Prize. Taus was born in 1983 in Moscow and lives and works in Makhachkala, Dagestan, and Moscow. She holds a BA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, London, and an MA from the Royal College of Art, London. In 2014, Taus Makhacheva won the Future of Europe prize at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Leipzig, and in 2012 she received the Innovation Prize, the Russian state award for contemporary art in Moscow, in the ‘New Generation’ category, for her project The Fast and The Furious.

How to Produce your own Photobook, with Lola Paprocka and Katja Chernova

Palm* publishing house founder Lola Paprocka and Ti Pi Tin bookshop founder Katja Tchernova will explain how to turn a personal photo project into a publishable book.

Lola Paprocka – London-based photographer, curator, publisher and art director. Originally from Poland she moved to London 13 years ago. She mainly works with medium format and occasionally 35mm. Lola’s inspirations come mainly from brutalist architecture, nature and portraiture. She is a founder of Palm Studios, a platform that promotes photographers, produce exhibitions and has its own publishing house called Palm*. Lola has exhibited globally in various group shows and photography festivals as well as curating the Independent Photography Festival in London and many book launches and solo exhibitions.

Katja Chernova – Founder of Ti Pi Tin, the bookstore dedicated to selling, supporting and promoting publications made by artists. Established in 2009 originally as an online platform, the shop is now an artist-run project space with diverse selection of vibrant and stimulating works, ranging from often independently and self-published limited edition books to small press monographs, journals and zines, as well as a dynamic programme of events.

How to prepare for a Portfolio Review, with Kate O’Neill

Metro Imaging Marketing & Partnerships Manager Kate O’Neill will give key tips on how to prepare your portfolio before you have it reviewed. This workshop is essential for emerging photographers keen to develop their practice critically or trying to secure exhibitions.

Kate O’Neill – Currently Marketing & Partnerships manager at Metro Imaging, she is embedded at the heart of the photographic community, supporting and encouraging emerging and existing artists through pro-development talks, creative workshops, mentorships and portfolio reviews. In addition Kate is founder and director of TheOGC -a platform supporting  women across the photography and visual arts industry – and has also recently co-founded The Precursor Project, an ongoing documentary photography archive and publication.

Portfolio Reviews

The New East Photo Prize Weekend will equip emerging artists the skills needed to become professional practitioners and chance to speak critically about their practice.

Throughout the weekend, you will have the opportunity to have a body of work or small portfolio reviewed by experts such as Ekow Eshun, Roger Tooth and Kate Bush.

Places for portfolio reviews are limited and will last about 15 minutes each. You will receive an email with intructions for booking your place nearer the time of the event.

The Print Swap Tombola by Metro Imaging x Calvert 22

The premise is simple: bring an image, then swap it with another photographer!

To enter the Print Swap Tombola, use an existing print of one of your photos or print one no larger than 16”x12” at http://www.metro-print.co.uk/ with the code [CALVERT22] to get 20% off.

Bring the print with you on Saturday 3 December and when you arrive you will be given a raffle ticket. Names will be pulled out of a hat two at a time and the chosen pairs will swap photographs.

The Print Swap Tombola is an ideal opportunity for photographers at any level to exchange work, share ideas and engage in a critical discussion about image-making practices.