Taking Part Residency

Photo-based participatory studio project.
Made with Eliza Gregory

2017

Photofusion is a hub for photographers in South London. Working in a diverse borough since 1992, the organisation has a proud history of community engagement including work with local schools, young offenders, social housing associations, and elders groups. Their pilot, experimental programme Taking Part is a series of four participatory artist residencies. It seeks to create space for discussion and developments in the field of collaborative arts, and to support emerging artists, with mentoring from Anthony Luvera.

The Taking Part residencies will provide a foundation for resident artists to test ideas, work with community groups, and extend their participatory artistic practice. 2017 residents are Wright & Vandame, Eva Sajovic, Derek Wiafe, and Gemma-Rose Turnbull, who has invited her collaborator Eliza Gregory to join her.

Gemma and Eliza will set up a temporary community-based photographic studio in central Brixton––using portraiture and conversation to explore what community might want from photography, and what photography wants from community. For four days in October they will be making free portraits at Brixton Pound, on the site of the old Mr Biggs family portrait studio (which is now a multi use space, including being Brixton’s first pay-what-you-feel cafe). Everyone is welcome to come and have a photo made.

Brixton Pound: 77 Atlantic Road, SW9 8PU

Over four days in October with assistance from two of the photography students I teach at Coventry University, Georgia Hutchins and Laura Dakin, we photographed 77 people and one stuffed rabbit at Brixton Pound, on the site of the old Mr. Biggs family portrait studio. Each participant left with the images made of them, via our onsite printer, and the final body of work represents those people who chose to take part. The stuffed rabbit represents a little girl who did not feel comfortable having her photo taken and sits next to a portrait of me and Eliza that she and her Dad made while we were trying to get her to feel comfortable with being photographed. She visited the exhibition and loved seeing her bunny on the wall.