Concerning Photography: In Conversation with Brett Rogers and Sarah Turner

Recorded on 22 November 2021.

Instituted in London in 1971, The Photographers’ Gallery’s inaugural exhibition was titled The Concerned Photographer. It was emblematic of the faith bestowed in photography as an indexical medium—to ignite sociopolitical consciousness with a claim to representational truth, embedded in the documentary modality. In the half-century since the establishment of The Photographers’ Gallery, this faith has been interred, refuted and revolted against, while the medium and material dimensions of photography have undergone elemental shifts. In the era of the post-digital and anti-archivist energies, the occasion of fifty years since the founding of The Photographers’ Gallery is being marked with a three-day online conference, hosted by the Paul Mellon Centre.

Titled Concerning Photography, the conference has been developed by Brett Rogers and Sarah Turner. Rogers is the Director of The Photographers’ Gallery, London, the first publicly funded gallery dedicated solely to photography in the UK. Turner is Deputy Director at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art in London, which is part of Yale University. The upcoming conference uses the temporal frame of fifty years as a portal to examine histories of Britain’s encounter with photography. It contends with the archival and lived knowledge of movements as well as projects and exhibitions that exceed the walls of the institution to encompass a field of artistic practices, rife with confrontations and collaborations.

In this episode of ASAP Cast, Arushi Vats speaks to Brett Rogers and Sarah Turner as they discuss institutional manoeuvres in the rapidly changing landscape of the photographic medium, how they conceptualised the structure of the conference, and projects from the past that they are excited to be exploring through the panels and presentations.

^{(Featured Image: Opening of The Concerned Photographer. Photograph by Paul Carter. London, 1971. Image courtesy of The Photographers’ Gallery Archive.)}

Concerning Photography: The Photographers’ Gallery and Photographic Networks in Britain (c.1971 to the Present) will be held online from 25 November 2021 to 2 December 2021. Please click here to learn more.

To hear the second part of this conversation, please click here.