Photoworks Festival - Propositions for Alternative Narratives

About

Led by Shoair Mavlian, Director, Photoworks, and grounded in ten years of research, Propositions for Alternative Narratives attempts to rethink traditional histories and challenge cultural hierarchies to support artists whose work has been lesser seen and under-acknowledged to date. The festival rethinks the idea of a linear narrative of photography, instead suggesting a more complex and interconnected revisionist history which helps build a fuller and more complex story. The festival can be experienced three ways; online in a digital festival hub, via a printed ‘festival in a box’ and through a major presentation of outdoor exhibitions on billboards spanning Sussex.

Participating artists include:  Farah Al Qasimi, Lotte Andersen, Poulomi Basu, Roger Eberhard, Ivars Gravlejs, Pixy Liao, Alix Marie, Ronan McKenzie, Sethembile Msezane, Alberta Whittle and Guanyu Xu.

Photoworks Festival in a box:

Inspired by Dayanita Singh’s innovative and seminal photobooks, we have curated a photography ‘festival in a box’ which is available to order by signing up as Photoworks Friend.  Designed as a deconstructed magazine, this box includes new texts proposing alternative histories of photography alongside contemporary artists making work which present new perspectives, challenging the mainstream. The limited edition box includes texts by Julia Bunnemann, Simon Baker, Pamila Gupta, Shoair Mavlian, Lucy Souter, and others.

Outdoor Festival:

An open air exhibition in Brighton & Hove which can be viewed across the city will appear this Autumn. It will be presented on poster sites and billboards across the city, from BN1 to the outer suburbs, bringing a global roster of artists to the streets for the first time.

Festival hub:

From 24 September, Photoworks' digital platforms will be transformed into a festival hub, connecting the physical work and the digital audiences. Experience the ‘festival in a box’ and outdoor festival virtually through our programme of talks, workshops, artist films, podcasts and more.  Partnerships with Calvert 22 and Aperture will bring international artists together with curators and experts.