About PhotoIreland

PhotoIreland is a Dublin based organisation dedicated to stimulate dialogue around Photography in Ireland. In 2010, we developed Ireland’s first international festival of Photography and Image Culture: The PhotoIreland Festival. But our work continues outside the festival period.

Background: Photography in Ireland

Photography has played an important role in Irish Culture ever since Francis Beatty opened Ireland’s first daguerreotype portrait studio on the roof of the Rotunda, Dublin, in October 1841. While Ireland has a strong Photographic tradition and enjoys international recognition thanks to its past and contemporary practitioners, there is to date no major event in Ireland that recognises the importance that Photography and images in general has in our culture, or even promotes it as an independent artistic practice.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), the Gallery of Photography (GOP), the Sirius Arts Center (SAC) and other organisations have recognised the importance of the photographic practice through specific awards, by starting their own collections, or by promoting Irish photographers internationally.

Source magazine has been publishing in Ireland since 1991 providing a platform for emerging and established photographers to have their work distributed nationally and internationally.

Belfast Exposed Northern Ireland’s only gallery of contemporary photography who commission, publish & exhibit local and international photographers.

The Gallery Of Photography and the National Photographic Archive (NPA) are at the forefront of Photography in Ireland, as in conjunction they offer to a wide audience a constant arena for a conversation in relation to the past, present and future of this media.

In the last years there has been an increase in the number of photographic exhibitions held in Ireland, and many museums and galleries have realised they represent a very attractive cultural offer to visitors.

In 2005, Triskel and Cork 2005 European Capital of Culture presented Sebastião Salgado’s work for the first time in Ireland – a very well received initiative with 12,000 visitors, and a call for attention on the empty landscape of Photographic exhibitions in Ireland.

More recently, The Sebastian Guinness Gallery has developed a strong curatorial interest on contemporary Photography, bringing to Ireland ‘American Jesus’, an exhibition by David LaChapelle (Sep 09). The exhibition represented a clear landmark regarding public interest in Photography; while it was held outside the gallery circuit, at the Connaught House, Burlington Road, Dublin 4, it received an extraordinary number of visitors, around 8,000 – it was extended for a month due to popular demand.

Another recent milestone, not coincidentally right after the aforementioned, it was IMMA’s ‘Picturing New York: Photographs from The Museum of Modern Art’, programmed from the 25th of November 2009 until the 14th of February 2010. In this case, the public subscription surpassed the expectations of Director Enrique Juncosa himself: 17,856 visitors in total. Two things were set against this event: not only is IMMA outside the immediate tourist route in Dublin city, the exhibition was ticketed at 5 euros per person – an unusual decision that did not prevent a record number of visitors and queues outside the New Galleries building where it was held.

The increase of photographic exhibitions has been accompanied all along by a proliferation of Photography degrees at various levels (DIT, IADT, Griffith College, amongst others) and the creation of specific research centers highly interested in the medium, like the Centre for Transcultural Research and Media Practice at DIT, and the Photography and International Conflict – an interdisciplinary research project funded by an Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences Thematic Project Research Grant.

Over the last decade and more, the standard of the third level fine art degree and MA exhibitions has improved dramatically, but by far the most exciting development has been the appearance of photography as a degree subject in a fine art context. Prior to that, photography was really taught as a purely technical subject. Of course, fine art students opted to use photography of their own accord, but compared to some other European countries, Ireland lagged behind in recognizing its role and its potential. In particular, there was little appreciation of how photography as a medium had extended its reach into so many different areas of creativity. Happily, there were people who understood this, both teachers and students. Staff in the photographic departments of both DIT and IADT, particularly, have been tremendous in opening up the subject, overseeing the production of diploma and degree work of the highest quality.
Aidan Dunne, on a letter written for the opening of PhotoIreland’s 2010 ‘The Thing That Bruises You’

Apart from the academic world, the understanding around Photography of the wider audience in Ireland is very poor compared to other European countries. We are only catching up, and suddenly realising there is a lot of work to be done.

The issue is deeply rooted in our cultural structures: The Irish Modern Art Museum has no Curator of Photography per se; the Arts Council includes Photography in the medley of Visual Arts; the image rich Irish media easily resorts to the use of the term ‘snap’ to avoid alienating its audience.

Nevertheless, as commented, there are initiatives and strong work being carried out to promote a photographic literacy, from many important organisations throughout Ireland. Although, unfortunately, there is no single event in Ireland that unifies, strengthens or celebrates their efforts. Although there is a strong support for other artistic practices, there has never been an International Photographic Festival held in Ireland.

The PhotoIreland Festival fills up this enormous gap in Irish culture and, in doing so, joining many European capitals like London, Paris and Madrid, who enjoy the celebration of Photographic Festivals that encourage their citizens to participate in a number of events, even outside the exhibition agenda, like through educational programs, workshops, portfolio reviews, guided tours, etc.

Purpose

PhotoIreland is committed to the cultivation of a deeper understanding and a critical interest around photographic knowledge. The purposes of the festival can be divided in two:

The Irish context

To raise awareness on the Photographic language, to contribute to the exploration of new ways of seeing, and to underline its crucial importance in today’s visual world.
To bring national and international Art Photographers and their work to Irish audiences through exhibitions, talks, discussions, lectures, guided tours, and workshops.
To engage local communities towards an everlasting relationship with the Arts, and to promote in these new ways of self-expression and self-representation.
To establish an Internationally recognised event that contributes to the recovery and growth of the Irish tourism industry.

International arena

Contributing to the world’s photographic legacy by exporting to an international audience via touring programs, the Internet, publications, and cultural exchanges the work of upcoming and established Art Photographers whose practice is developed in Ireland.
To tap into the international networks where Irish curators, art critics, galleries, art magazines, etc. can enrich their practices and research around Photography
To establish strong bonds with other International Photo Festivals worldwide, propitiating a new channel to develop cultural exchange.

Goals

Currently, our work is focused in the following areas:

- To celebrate a yearly festival of Photography around the country.
- To develop a collection of books on contemporary Irish Photography.
- To establish an Irish Photographic Foundation.
- To lobby for the creation of an Irish Museum of Photography.

If you want to learn more, or have a specific question, please contact us.

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The Arts Marketplace in Ireland