TalkSeePhotography Writing Photography

September’s TalkSeePhotography will bring curator and writer John McDougall into a discussion, exploring some of the developments in Scottish photography writing which have shaped it into what we know today, and how our understanding of it affects our relationships with artists and institutions around us.

Writing on photography is important to developing various understandings of the medium and essential to drawing connections to other cultural, social and political arenas - but too often its perceived as negativity, superfluous or as too “academic” and complicated. Where can we look to in order to find ways to foster and develop a community of writers and thinkers who can not only represent a diverse and interesting photography landscape but also challenge it to become something which plays its own role in the movements and progression of photographic culture in Scotland?

Questions we might ask are, how can we develop its relationship with institutional and academic structures, while continually ensuring that it remains independent in its ability to question and challenge their powers? What role does criticality play in relation to current and contemporary photography practices? What role does photography writing play in wider terms? How can we ensure a regrowth of engaged informed critics in our context?

Join us for a frank and open discussion around writing on photography and photographic practices, as we seek to engage with some of these questions.

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Through a regular series of artist talks and lectures, TalkSeePhotography aims to foster an open forum for discussions on the photographic medium in Scotland and beyond. The monthly events offer a diverse range of topics, a place to see new work and discover fresh ideas, and a much needed opportunity for those with varying relationships to photography to exchange ideas and expand their networks.