We are Social History - Exhibition closing Seminar Event

We are Social History
Exhibition closing Seminar Event
2pm Saturday 5th June
Live on Zoom, Free but ticketed
Book via Eventbrite

To mark the closing weekend of her exhibition Legacy at Street Level, Nicky Bird is inviting four guests to share what We are Social History means to each of them in relation to their work.

This statement, which appears on one of the gallery walls, was originally made by Ruth Mcdougall, a participant in Nicky’s project Travelling the Archive, 2016 / 2020.

Through short presentations from our invited guests, and in conversation with the audience, the seminar will explore photography’s enduring relationship with a range of social histories from the archive to contemporary photographic practice.

Chaired by Nicky Bird

Alishia Farnan is a Glasgow based photographer who works with social architecture. Her images are part of one singular and continuous archival project. The most recent addition to her archive is a body of work looking at social spaces in Ukraine left over from the Soviet era.

Alishia will discuss her on-going photographic practice in relation to social spaces from Scotland’s working men’s clubs to Eastern European Palaces of Culture.

Anne Lyden is Chief Curator, Photography, at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh where she is responsible for a collection of 55,000 photographs. She has curated numerous exhibitions and authored several books including most recently A Perfect Chemistry: The Photographs of Hill & Adamson (2017).

Through a selection of specific photographs from the NGS collection, Anne will discuss their role in understanding social history photographic practices.

Catherine MacPhee is an archivist who grew up on the Isle of Skye, allowing her to engage with community groups across Skye and Lochalsh while preserving and protecting the culture. Currently studying for her MLitt in Archives and Records Management with Dundee University, Catherine manages the Skye and Lochalsh Archive Centre in Portree.

With her strong knowledge of local culture and deep connection to the Isle of Skye, Catherine will draw out the significance of selected photographs from the Archive Centre, including those made by ‘amateur’ photographers.

Iseult Timmermans has been involved in making photographic work and creating opportunities for others across a range of settings, working at Street Level on education and outreach projects since late 1990s.  Her photography is rooted in collaborative practice, exploring techniques and ideas with others across a variety of contexts.

Iseult will reflect on aspects of her work within multi-story, Street Level's long term, community based photography project that ran from the Red Road flats in Glasgow (2004-2014) and specifically the work with young people, whose voices remain under-represented in relation to social history.