Symposium on War Photography

The one-day symposium will bring together experts in photography and media from the UK and Europe. Through keynote presentations and panel discussions, the participants will explore the historical perspective and most recent practices of working with photography to talk about conflicts.

Building on the success of “Symposium: Researching and Curating Photography from Ukraine”, organised by Open Eye Gallery and held at the University of Salford in March 2024, this second​ edition will take place at Open Eye Gallery, with contributions from prominent researchers,​ academics, and curators, as well as documentary photographers, including those working on​ the front lines.

Schedule:

10:00–10:30 – coffee and welcome

10:30–11:15 – Curating images of war. Photography of conflict in museums and galleries. Max Gorbatskyi and Viktoria Bavykina (the exhibition's curators) in conversation with Tamsin Silvey (the curator at Historic England), moderated by Sarah Fisher.

11:30– 12:15 – Ethics and aesthetics of war in the global journalism and media. Vid Simoniti (philosopher, University of Liverpool) and Fiona Shields (chief photography editor at The Guardian).

12:30–13:15 – In the eye of the storm. Photographers in the centre of violence. Risking life and making crucial images. Evgeniy Maloletka (chief photographer for Associated Press) and Diane Smyth (editor of the British Journal of Photography.

13:15–14:30 – Lunch break.

14:30–15:15 – Photography as evidence. Use of photography in Holocaust trials and photography's role as evidence today. Max Houghton (Course Leader for MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at London College​ of Communication, University of the Arts London) and Anna Oliinyk (Researcher at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford University).

15:30–16:15 – Photography of war: journalism, documentary, art? Max Gorbatskyi and Peter van Agtmael (photographer, Magnum Photos).

16.30–17.30 – drinks and networking.

​Speakers: Fiona Shields (The Guardian), Peter van Agtmael (Magnum Photos), Evgeniy Maloletka (Associated Press), Max Houghton (London College​ of Communication, University of the Arts London), Max Gorbatskyi and Viktoria Bavykina (curators).

The symposium is accompanying Open Eye Gallery's exhibition No Iconic Images.

The symposium is supported by the British Council in Ukraine in partnership with the Ukrainian Institute and the Cultural Diplomacy Foundation within the framework of the UK–Ukraine 100-Year Partnership.

Image: © Newsha Tavakolian / Magnum Photos