Brighton Photo Biennial

Reimagine 

Venue: University of Brighton Gallery, 58-67 Grand Parade, Brighton BN2 0JY

Opening Times: Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 4pm 

© Olivia Arthur/Magnum Photos, Untitled from the Photoworks and FOCUS Festival co-commissioned series 'Reimagine', 2016. 

Olivia Arthur and Bharat Sikka

A Photoworks/FOCUS Festival Mumbai co-commission in partnership with the University of Brighton

Olivia Arthur (UK) and Bharat Sikka (India) have collaborated for the first time to explore private and public presentation of self-image in relation to the body, gender, sexuality and fantasy.

Working with communities in both Mumbai and Brighton, cities with sharply contrasting politics of gender and sexuality, the photographers have collaborated with their participants to produce a new documentary project. 

The work they have researched and developed together revolves to a large extent around individuals who identify themselves as being part of the LGBTQ+ community and importantly, a community that represents contemporary diversity in relation to sexuality and gender. 

Both photographers have worked on large format film. Working in only black and white, Olivia has created images that explore people’s sense of self within their sexual identity. Working in colour, Bharat has offset this reality and added an element of fiction to his private and public scenes.

The public and private spheres in which the photographs are set present a contrast and raise questions as to the private and public presentation of self and the influence of locale on gender and sexuality.

Research and development supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England’s Re:Imagine India programme and the University of Brighton.

Artist Lindsey Smith has worked closely with the photographers in the UK to make connection with participants on the project. Partners include: Marlborough Pub & Theatre, Allsorts Youth Project and GScene 

Olivia Arthur (b. 1980) is a London-based photographer, who has worked for many years on the East-West cultural divide. Her first book, Jeddah Diary, was about the lives of young women in Saudi Arabia. Her second book, Stranger, is a journey into Dubai seen through the eyes of the survivor of a shipwreck. Her work has been exhibited internationally and has been included in institutional collections in the UK, USA, Germany and Switzerland. She is co-founder of Fishbar, a publisher and space for photography in London. She is a member of Magnum Photos.

Bharat Sikka (b. 1973) grew up in India, working there as a photographer before studying at the Parsons School of Design, NYC, where he earned a BFA in Photography. Establishing a fine art approach to the field of photography, Bharat documents contemporary visions of India. Bharat has contributed for magazines and publications such as The New York Times, W, The New Yorker, i.D, Vogue, Vogue Homme International, Details and Time Magazine. Bharat now lives and works between Europe and India.

Into the Outside: The Story So Far

© Bette Davies, Colin Livens, Persephone Window Plant, James Warren, From 'Into the Outside: The Story So Far', 2016

Into the Outside is a major, multi-partner heritage-learning project with local young people, re-examining the city’s rich LGBTQ+ past and creating a new archive of queer youth experiences.

The exhibition charts the progress of the project and includes creative writing, photography and archive material.

Supported by respected photographer Helen Cammock, young participants are examining how issues faced today by young people identifying as LGBTQ+ compare with those faced by young LGBTQ+ people over the past forty years.

Participants are exploring a range of archive materials, including the National Lesbian and Gay Survey – an extraordinary collection of autobiographical writing and ephemera submitted by over 700 people between 1986 and 1994.

A collaboration with the Mass Observation Archive, Brighton & Hove Libraries Service, the East Sussex Record Office and Queer in Brighton.

Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Young Roots Programme.

The Dandy Lion Project

© Sara Shamsavari, Cal ‘Caligraphist’ Librea, London, 2014

University of Brighton Galleries: 154-155 Edward Street, Brighton, BN2 0JG - Google Map

Opening Times: Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 4pm

Curated by Shantrelle P. Lewis

European premiere

The Dandy Lion Project explores global expressions of the Black Dandy phenomenon against the backdrop of contemporary life. The exhibition presents more than 150 images from over thirty photographers and filmmakers and is curated from an international open call by US curator, Shantrelle P. Lewis. The first comprehensive exhibition of its kind, this project highlights young men in cityscapes, defying stereotypical and monolithic understandings of Black male identity, by adopting Victorian-era fashion and fusing this with traditional African sartorial sensibilities. Following acclaimed showings at Museum of Contemporary Photography – Chicago and Museum of African Diaspora – San Francisco, this European premiere of The Dandy Lion Project will also include a digital element featuring vintage family and archive images from a special call–out. A book accompanying the exhibition will be published by Aperture in Spring 2017.

Exhibiting photographers include: Hanif Abur-Rahim, Jody Ake, Abdul Aziz, Laylah Amatullah Barrayn, Rose Callahan, Kia Chenelle, Shawn Escoffery, Adama Delphine Fawundu, Russell K. Frederick, Cassi Amanda Gibson, Allison Janae Hamilton, Akintola Hanif, Harness Hamese, L. Kasimu Harris, Caroline Kaminju, Charl Landvreugd, Jati Lindsay, Devin Mays, Baudouin Moaunda, Terence Nance, Sierra Odessa, Arteh Odjidja, Numa Perrier, Alexis Peskine, Radcliffe Roye, Sara Shamsavari, Daniele Tamagni, Richard Terborg, Adrian O. Walker, Rog Walker.

A native of New Orleans, Shantrelle P. Lewis (b. 1978) is a 2014 United Nations Programme for People of African Descent Fellow and 2012-13 Andy Warhol Curatorial Fellow. She is a U.S. based curator and researcher who travels internationally researching Diasporic aesthetics, spirituality and the survival and nuances of Transnational African Diasporan communities. Her traveling curatorial initiative The Dandy Lion Project, examines Global Black Dandyism through photography and film. Other exhibits and projects have been on view in institutions throughout the U.S. and Europe. She has written for Slate, NKA: Journal for Contemporary African Art and Art Papers. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR and Huffingtonpost. At present, Shantrelle is researching ties between the Dutch Caribbean and the African Diaspora at-large. Currently, she is directing and producing, The Black Dutchman, a documentary about the Dutch blackface tradition Zwarte Piet and Black identity in the Netherlands. Forthcoming is her first book, Dandy Lion, to be published by Aperture in Spring 2017.

Further information on other Brighton Photo Biennial exhibitions and events.