Read / Watch / Listen | Photography and Visual Politics Blog

Fantasy Through a Feminist Lens

POSTED: 06 May 2022

A conversation with artist Poulomi Basu exploring trauma, self-care and worldbuilding

Hosting Ideas for Progress: Mark Sealy in conversation with Yinka Shonibare

POSTED: 28 April 2022

A discussion about the work of representation in cultural institutions

VR Exhibition Tour - Poulomi Basu: Fireflies

POSTED: 28 April 2022

Bringing Autograph's gallery straight to you - virtually visit Poulomi Basu's deeply emotive and powerful new exhibition, Fireflies

Five Quick Questions: An Interview with our Artist-In-Residence, Thompson Hall

POSTED: 21 April 2022

On taking creative time, space and inspiration - Thompson Hall reflects on the first month of his residency at Autograph

The Coventry Tales

POSTED: 01 April 2022

A pilgrimage to the Turner Prize 2021 exhibition: on contemporary art, acts of solidarity and disability rights

Listen: Playlists as Portals

POSTED: 09 March 2022

Collaboratively composed music journals, concerned with the futurity and living histories of diasporic people

Art of Devotion: Belief, Faith and Spirit in Creative Practice

POSTED: 23 February 2022

Evan Ifekoya, reflects on the photographic work of Rotimi Fani-Kayode and Maud Sulter

Spring Exhibitions at Autograph

POSTED: 17 February 2022

New exhibitions by artists Poulomi Basu and Sutapa Biswas – exploring the ripple effects of complex journeys and turbulent pasts

Creating Community: Photography, Co-Authorship and Visual Storytelling

POSTED: 16 February 2022

Watch back the conversation with our friends at Future Hackney, sharing our communities' stories

Watch: Care | Contagion | Community — Self & Other

POSTED: 09 February 2022

Reflecting on the wider contexts of the Covid-19 crisis

VR Exhibition Tour: Care | Contagion | Community — Self & Other

POSTED: 02 February 2022

Bringing Autograph's gallery straight to you - virtually visit our current exhibition and see works by ten artists responding to the Covid-19 crisis

A Look Back at 2021

POSTED: 21 December 2021

Thank you to everyone who supported us

Pleasure for Pleasure’s Sake – Black Queer Erotica in the Archive

POSTED: 10 December 2021

Writer Jason Okundaye responds to artist Ajamu X’s new publication AJAMU : ARCHIVE

Gift Ideas from Autograph

POSTED: 26 November 2021

Photography books, postcards and more, up to 80% off 🎁

New Waves x Autograph: Collaboration, Inspiration and the Meaning of Home

POSTED: 10 November 2021

Watch: artists Othello De'Souza-Hartley and Ope Lori in conversation with students at London College of Communication

7 Emerging Artists Working to Break Down Barriers in the Arts

POSTED: 29 October 2021

Introducing the work of 7 disabled, neurodiverse and barrier-facing artists involved in our Transforming Leadership project

A Black Gaze

POSTED: 19 October 2021

Watch back our livestream with Tina M. Campt, Jenn Nkiru and Zoé Whitley, exploring the implications and possibilities of a Black gaze

Photo Live: Online Artist Talks

POSTED: 04 October 2021

Watch back this series of talks highlighting the importance of centring marginalised voices and storytelling in photography

Colin Jones (1936 – 2021)

POSTED: 30 September 2021

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Colin Jones, acclaimed photographer and great friend of Autograph

Neurodiversity and Collective Approaches to Art Making

POSTED: 07 September 2021

Watch back two of our online events, on the ways collaboration and collective art making can develop a more inclusive creative sector.

Who Cares 'Who' Cares?

POSTED: 25 August 2021

On Autograph's creative platform for care and collaboration, and the work of detoxifying masculinities in arts & education

We're hiring workshop assistants for our Family SEND Workshops!

POSTED: 18 August 2021

Help us deliver our Family SEND Workshops based on child-led creative play and sensory/material explorations

We Need a New Way to Understand This Moment

POSTED: 16 August 2021

PILOT artists share their work from the end of "the year that wasn’t"

Mapping Different Futures in Pandemic Times

POSTED: 16 August 2021

Alberto Duman takes us on a speculative journey via Angela Davis and Octavia Butler, to reflect on 'the future'

Beauty For All: The Photography of Maxine Walker

POSTED: 11 August 2021

Mariama Attah considers the roles of stereotypes, beauty, Blackness and resistance in Maxine Walker’s photographic practice.

Dismantling Intellectual Ableism in the Arts

POSTED: 03 August 2021

Historically, the art world has not recognised or valued the work of neurodivergent artists. Text by Sonia Boué.

Invitation to Tender: Photography Collection Cataloguing and Accreditation Project

POSTED: 22 July 2021

We are seeking a Consultant or Consultants, to deliver a cataloguing and collection accreditation project for our unique photography collection

Watch: Common Threads

POSTED: 21 July 2021

Members of Submit to Love Studios take you through their exhibition Common Threads at Autograph

Watch an Introduction to Sharif Persaud's Exhibition

POSTED: 21 July 2021

Watch the new film introducing our current exhibition, Have You Ever Had, by Sharif Persaud

Sun Prints: Family Art Activities

POSTED: 20 July 2021

New family art activities, to welcome in the summer ☀️

New Student Work: Art, Activism, Archive

POSTED: 20 July 2021

Art students at Central Saint Martins explore issues of identity and representation

Heritage, Talent and Otherness: The Making of Common Threads

POSTED: 15 July 2021

Watch this short film for a behind the scenes glimpse of the making of the works in our Common Threads exhibition

Watch Posy Dixon's short film Chaos/Quest

POSTED: 09 July 2021

July is Disability Pride Month, and we're sharing a new film about Submit To Love Studios — home to a group of artists living with a brain injury

From the Niger Delta to Southall: Understanding Race and Climate Justice

POSTED: 06 July 2021

Writer Selina Nwulu considers the issues that bind the struggles for racial and climate justice

Heavy Circle: Uplifting Black Masculinity

POSTED: 02 July 2021

Watch an open conversation between Black men of multiple generations and backgrounds

Autograph's Gallery is Open

POSTED: 23 June 2021

We've reopened with two exhibitions highlighting identity and neurodiversity

Strength, Resilience and Struggle: Zita Holbourne Commemorates Windrush Day

POSTED: 22 June 2021

New Opportunity: Publication Researcher - Black Women in Photography

POSTED: 18 June 2021

Closing date 12 July 2021

Art and Care in a Pandemic

POSTED: 17 June 2021

What does care look like and mean in a pandemic?

What it Means to be Human: In Conversation with Karl Ohiri

POSTED: 03 June 2021

The artist speaks with Bindi Vora about the process of producing his new commission

Loren Hansi Gordon: The Oneness of Things

POSTED: 03 June 2021

Writer and curator Loren Hansi Gordon responds to Karl Ohiri's new work

On Care, Memory and Place: In Conversation with Sonal Kantaria

POSTED: 27 May 2021

The artist speaks with Autograph's director Mark Sealy about notions of home, family and heritage.

Lola Young: City, Country, City

POSTED: 27 May 2021

Lola Young responds to Sonal Kantaria's new artist commission.

Anne McNeill: Breathing Space

POSTED: 20 May 2021

Anne McNeill considers Joy Gregory's new commission and the importance of creative acts of self-care in the global pandemic.

Isolation, Distance, Encounters, Invention: In Conversation with Joy Gregory

POSTED: 20 May 2021

The artist speaks with Mark Sealy

Sunil Gupta Wins Photography Book Award

POSTED: 18 May 2021

Our latest book, From Here to Eternity, has been jointly awarded the 2021 Kraszna-Krausz Photography Book Award

Done Begging: Art and Rights

POSTED: 17 May 2021

Can rights offer true liberation when issues of structural racism and injustice are so prevalent in our society?

Resources, Artist Opportunities & More

POSTED: 14 May 2021

Looking to discover something new?

Notions of Becoming: In Conversation with Ope Lori

POSTED: 13 May 2021

Artist and filmmaker Campbell X speaks with the artist about her newly commissioned films

Transformations: In My Father’s House

POSTED: 13 May 2021

Autograph's senior curator Renée Mussai reflects on Ope Lori’s transgressive double performance in her artist commission

On Structural Isolation: In Conversation with Silvia Rosi

POSTED: 06 May 2021

The artist speaks with Bindi Vora during the process of making her new artist commission

Performing a Lockdown: The Self and the Camera

POSTED: 06 May 2021

Krasimira Butseva reflects on how actions performed in isolation became rituals for survival in Silvia Rosi's new commission

Good Stories Take Time: Creativity, Legacy and Non-Reactive Storytelling

POSTED: 30 April 2021

How can we record our histories in a way that keeps them active and alive?

Our Cultures are the Portals: In Conversation with Poulomi Desai

POSTED: 29 April 2021

The artist speaks with Mark Sealy about her practice

Tarini Malik: Life, Death and Everything In Between

POSTED: 29 April 2021

Curator Tarini Malik responds to Poulomi Desai's new artist commission

#HackneyIsHome - Your Pictures

POSTED: 23 April 2021

Your photographs on the theme Hackney Is Home 📸

Dave Lewis: On Photographer and Activist Dexter McLean

POSTED: 22 April 2021

Considering the politics of representation, disability and the black body

Photography and Parity: In Conversation with Dexter McLean

POSTED: 22 April 2021

The artist speaks with Mark Sealy about his new commission

When Everything Fell Silent: In Conversation with Mohini Chandra

POSTED: 15 April 2021

The artist speaks with Bindi Vora about her newly commissioned film

Sushma Jansari: I let the pitcher drift away

POSTED: 15 April 2021

Reflecting on Mohini Chandra's commission, and how the pandemic may shape our understanding of the past, present and future

If We Care Enough [To Look]: In Conversation with Aida Silvestri

POSTED: 09 April 2021

The artist speaks with Renée Mussai about her new commission

Anthony Downey: The Rhetorical Fallacy of Inclusion

POSTED: 08 April 2021

On imperial legacies and structural inequalities in response to Aida Silvestri’s artist commission

In Search of Stillness: In Conversation with Othello De'Souza-Hartley

POSTED: 31 March 2021

The artist speaks with Renée Mussai about using his creative practice to reflect and mediate grief

Raymond Antrobus: In That Green

POSTED: 31 March 2021

Reflecting on the shape of time, loss and grief in Othello De'Souza-Hartley's new commission

One (pandemic) year on…

POSTED: 31 March 2021

Autograph's senior curator Renée Mussai introduces our latest artist commissions in a new curatorial essay

Feeling Colour: Family Art Activities

POSTED: 31 March 2021

Download free activity worksheets and make-along with our instructional videos – suitable for all ages and abilities

Call for Photographs on the Theme 'Hackney is Home'

POSTED: 15 March 2021

Send us your photos and help celebrate Hackney’s communities 📸

Hackney Is Our Home

POSTED: 15 March 2021

We're lighting up the Old Street Digital Canvas with artworks by young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds

Pursuing Education and Artistic Practice, Differently

POSTED: 09 March 2021

Reflections on building an alternative arts course in a pandemic

Selfies and Stories from Hackney’s Windrush Generation

POSTED: 03 March 2021

Celebrating a legacy

Watch: Artivism and Transnational Solidarity

POSTED: 27 February 2021

Couldn’t join us for this conversation among socially engaged artists? Watch it back here

Artist Interview: Sunil Gupta

POSTED: 25 February 2021

Learn about Sunil Gupta's photography and activism

Drown in my Magic: David Uzochukwu Interview

POSTED: 18 February 2021

"I could escape into spaces full of beauty, live in stories where I could be powerful"

Open Call 2021

POSTED: 16 February 2021

Submit your online event proposal for an opportunity to make it happen with Autograph's support

Photographers in Conversation: Sunil Gupta & Jermaine Francis

POSTED: 09 February 2021

New video on our blog

Listen: African Cosmologies

POSTED: 04 February 2021

Lose yourself (or, perhaps, find yourself) in this playlist curated by Mark Sealy

Between Feeling and Time: Brent in the 80s and 90s

POSTED: 18 January 2021

Roy Mehta’s photographs capture the Afro-Caribbean and Irish communities of Brent

10 Artists Whose Practice We Discovered in Portfolio Reviews in 2020

POSTED: 15 January 2021

Autograph’s Bindi Vora picks the projects and artists that made an impression on her

Artist Talk: Sunil Gupta

POSTED: 13 January 2021

Sunil Gupta discusses his life, photography and activism - watch the video here

Ripping Into Colonial Monuments

POSTED: 10 December 2020

Couldn’t make the event? Watch the conversation with artist Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle here

Clay Play: Family Art Activities

POSTED: 01 December 2020

Download free activity worksheets and make-along with our instructional videos

Sharif Persaud Film Wins Award

POSTED: 28 November 2020

Our friends Project Art Works are joint winners of The Jarman Award 2020, including Persaud’s film The Mask

Shadow Selves: Tobi Alexandra Falade Interview

POSTED: 27 November 2020

"All my works are in ways reflections of various guises of myself"

Watch: The Decolonising Lens Part 2

POSTED: 25 November 2020

How dialogue and networks are important to effecting change within academic and cultural institutions

A Call to Care

POSTED: 20 November 2020

Watch a series of conversations about care and community during Covid-19

Poulomi Basu Exhibition Wins Award

POSTED: 13 November 2020

Centralia has won the Rencontres d'Arles Louis Roederer Discovery Award Jury Prize

A Call to Care: Pamela Franklin

POSTED: 10 November 2020

How the Caribbean Social Forum reimagined exchanges between members to fight the isolation of lockdown

From Here To Eternity

POSTED: 06 November 2020

Watch a new film with Sunil Gupta, a personal tour of his major retrospective exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery

Curators Talk: on Sunil Gupta

POSTED: 05 November 2020

Mark Sealy and Karen McQuaid explore the artist's work and career. Watch the full video here

Moments Outside the Frame

POSTED: 31 October 2020

How is the past recollected? Introducing our latest book, of artist Sunil Gupta's personal archive

A Call to Care: Marice Cumber

POSTED: 20 October 2020

Creative engagement to support young homeless people during the Covid-19 pandemic

African Cosmologies Book Shortlisted for Award

POSTED: 16 October 2020

Shortlisted for the 2020 Paris Photo—Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards

Care, crisis and arts education

POSTED: 04 September 2020

Why alternative platforms are urgent now for arts education

Rights in Light of Covid-19: Sex Work, Prison Abolition and Public Health

POSTED: 25 August 2020

Couldn’t make the event? Watch the video here

Rights, Visibility and Disability in Cultural Spaces

POSTED: 14 August 2020

"Collaborative acts can foster connection across difference ... and challenge prevailing hierarchies"

A Call to Care: Suzanne Lee

POSTED: 07 August 2020

We speak to All Change about how vulnerable community groups are engaging with art during Covid-19

Long Read: Interview with Maryam Wahid

POSTED: 01 August 2020

Bindi Vora speaks to Wahid about the power of family albums to unlock the past

Care, in the Post

POSTED: 28 July 2020

How we built an inclusive workshop programme for families with children with SEND, and continued after Covid-19

Family Art Activity Worksheets

POSTED: 28 July 2020

Download our free worksheets packed with ideas for creative play - for all ages and abilities

A Call to Care: Sheryll Catto & Thompson Hall

POSTED: 22 July 2020

Watch our interview with ActionSpace, discussing how Covid-19 has impacted artists with learning disabilities

Rights in Light of Covid-19: Disability Justice

POSTED: 21 July 2020

Watch the video from this impassioned and important discussion

What Matters?

POSTED: 14 July 2020

A collaborative snapshot of lives in isolation, told through personal objects. Watch the film here

Rights in Light of Covid-19: Race and Migration

POSTED: 10 July 2020

Missed this online event? Watch it here

Announcing new artist commissions

POSTED: 03 July 2020

Autograph has commissioned ten artists to create new work, responding to the wider context of the Covid-19 crisis

Out and About on Lockdown

POSTED: 30 June 2020

Watch a video diary with artist Sharif Persaud, a bi-weekly record of connection

Final days to apply to our 2020 Open Call

POSTED: 26 June 2020

Call for online event proposals, deadline is 10am on 1 July

Art, Activism & Archive

POSTED: 24 June 2020

New work created by art students during the seismic shifts of lockdown and pandemic

Share Your Thoughts

POSTED: 23 June 2020

Autograph is carrying out a new survey to better understand our digital audience

Windrush day

POSTED: 19 June 2020

See Omar Victor Diop’s artist commission, revisualising a key moment in Britain’s history

Autograph Recommends: Dayanita Singh

POSTED: 18 June 2020

Bindi Vora is mesmerised by Singh’s moving still image Mona and Myself

James Barnor: Ever Young

POSTED: 12 June 2020

Download our newspaper dedicated to the pioneering photographer

Hospitals, Piers, Masks and Sneezing

POSTED: 10 June 2020

Chris Miller reviews Sharif Persaud

(For)ever Young: A Tribute to James Barnor

POSTED: 05 June 2020

Renée Mussai reflects on the legendary photographer

"Did you hear?": Zara Joan Miller reviews Sharif Persaud

POSTED: 04 June 2020

“We are, many of us, in a self-contained annex, often with a phone in hand”

Interview with Monica Alcazar-Duarte

POSTED: 03 June 2020

The Enduring Legacies of Women's Trauma

POSTED: 30 May 2020

Common Threads

POSTED: 26 May 2020

Exploring the many ways underrepresented stories can be told

Disability and Digital (im)mobilisation

POSTED: 14 May 2020

Missed this online event? Watch it here

Visual Care

POSTED: 07 May 2020

Franklyn Rodgers’ exquisite portraits capture a generation

“We Were Here”: Remembering Nevil Hartley

POSTED: 01 May 2020

Autograph’s Senior Curator Renée Mussai pays tribute to the late Nevil Hartley

African Cosmologies: Photography, Time and the Other

POSTED: 28 April 2020

New photobook to add to your lockdown reading list

A Different Way of Seeing

POSTED: 21 April 2020

Covid-19 got in the way of our plans to exhibit this film at Autograph, now you can watch it online

Interview with Mouth That Roars

POSTED: 21 April 2020

“Black young people with autism are rarely represented in the public arena”

Photobooks for the NHS

POSTED: 20 April 2020

We’ve donated 200 photography books to Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital

Who Cares

POSTED: 10 April 2020

These photographs by Sonal Kantaria and Sangita Mistry feel more relevant than ever

Care

POSTED: 03 April 2020

It’s been an astonishing few weeks

Family Workshops for Children with SEND

POSTED: 22 November 2019

Booking is now open for workshops in Jan - Apr 2020

EXPLORERS Conference: Art, Rights and Representation

POSTED: 18 October 2019

Autograph is taking part in a two day event about neurodiversity, art and the politics of inclusion

Lola Flash and Maxine Walker Opening Night

POSTED: 13 May 2019

More than 400 people joined us for the launch of Autograph's new exhibitions

Free tickets for artist educators to the Rights in Focus Conference

POSTED: 12 March 2019

We have 10 free tickets available for artist educators to attend our upcoming conference on rights and arts engagement

Chris Miller reviews The Space Between Things

POSTED: 05 March 2019

Chris Miller is an artist at Submit to Love Studios in Hackney – a collective of artists, all of whom have survived brain injuries. As part of our March Thursday Late event in collaboration with the studio, he reviews Boswell's powerful exhibition at Autograph.

Cecil Waldron - Submit to Love Studios artist

POSTED: 28 February 2019

Cecil's work will be on display at our March #ThursdayLate

Artist Sam Jevon

POSTED: 27 February 2019

In the run-up to our Thursday Late event in collaboration with Submit to Love Studios, we take a closer look at the work of Sam Jevon

Artist Affiong Day

POSTED: 26 February 2019

A member of the Submit to Love Studios collective, Affiong's work will be on display at our March #ThursdayLate

Submit to Love Studios: Mohammed Sharif

POSTED: 26 February 2019

Mohammed's work will be on display at our Thursday Late event on 7 March

Events for families with children with SEND

POSTED: 12 February 2019

Autograph is launching a new series of monthly workshops at our gallery in Shoreditch

Accumulate x Metro - Pay it Forward Folio Reviews

POSTED: 04 February 2019

Have your photographic work reviewed by established photographers, influencers and curators from within the industry

Creative workshops with Accumulate

POSTED: 30 January 2019

We're developing a new exhibition with youth homeless charity Accumulate - and participants attended their first workshops at Autograph

Hire Rivington Place

POSTED: 23 January 2019

Have your event, launch, meeting or activity at our iconic building in Shoreditch, London. We offer unique and versitile spaces for hire.

Sunil Gupta commission in Spectrosynthesis II

POSTED: 21 January 2019

The New Pre-Raphaelites - an Autograph commission - will feature in the largest-ever LGBT Asian contemporary art exhibition

Black Girl Meetup Visits Autograph

POSTED: 14 January 2019

We welcomed Black Girl Meetup to our gallery in Shoreditch, to see Autograph's new exhibition by Phoebe Boswell

Call for event proposals

POSTED: 08 January 2019

Are you a creative practitioner? Propose your event or activity to take place at Autograph in our 2019 open call

Faisal Abdu’Allah’s powerful tapestries

POSTED: 03 January 2019

Artimage looks back at 2018's top art stories - including our exhibition The Duppy Conqueror And Other Stories

Mulberry School for Girls visit Common Ground exhibition

POSTED: 02 January 2019

Inspired by our exhibition of work by young London photographers, local pupils created their own group portraits

Our Holiday Opening Hours

POSTED: 20 December 2018

Our gallery in Shoreditch, London will be closed from Sunday 23 December - Tuesday 1 January. See you in 2019!

Omar Victor Diop: Black Subjects in the Frame

POSTED: 19 December 2018

In a new video by HENI Talks, hear some of the ways the framing of black identity through history has hindered, obscured and liberated the lives of many people across the globe

Phoebe Boswell exhibition opening night

POSTED: 19 December 2018

More than 200 people joined us at the opening night of Phoebe Boswell's exhibition The Space Between Things

Lyrispect Commission

POSTED: 18 December 2018

Listen to Lyrispect's original poem The Reclamation - created in response to our touring exhibition by Zanele Muholi at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art

Middlesex University Archive Visit

POSTED: 18 December 2018

Students visited Autograph's archive, sparking complex discussions about how visual arts can affect change in our communities

Pop-up Book Sale

POSTED: 12 December 2018

At the opening night of our new exhibition by Phoebe Boswell - perfect for Christmas shopping

Nearly 100 local pupils respond to our exhibition by Omar Victor Diop

POSTED: 11 December 2018

Saint John the Baptist Primary School joined us for a series of learning workshops

Liberty/Diaspora featured on BBC World News

POSTED: 05 December 2018

Watch Omar Victor Diop's interview with Focus on Africa about his recent exhibition at Autograph

Leased Offices Available

POSTED: 20 November 2018

We have some fabulous leased offices available at Rivington Place

The story behind Rachel Velastegui's photograph Amor

POSTED: 19 November 2018

A powerful image, taken when both Rachel and the sitter were 17

Young London Photographers: Common Ground launch event

POSTED: 19 November 2018

More than 200 people joined us at the opening of our student exhibition

An Rinceoir Briste – The Broken Dancer

POSTED: 14 November 2018

Courtney Jelley addresses disability in her work, on display now in Young London Photographers: Common Ground

Couch Surfing by Chantae Henry

POSTED: 13 November 2018

Young London Photographers: Common Ground opens tonight - we take a closer look at Chantae Henry's work addressing homelessness.

Call For Practitioners

POSTED: 13 November 2018

Autograph are looking for two practitioners to present at our upcoming Rights in Focus Network event on Saturday 8th December.

Lewisham Young Advisors Workshop

POSTED: 01 November 2018

A passionate discussion about the experience of youth 'then and now'

Challenging the Narrative: Young Migrants Speaking Up

POSTED: 30 October 2018

Listen to the podcast from Brighter Futures' event at Autograph - debating the biggest issues faced by young migrants today

What Does Freedom in Journalism Look Like?

POSTED: 29 October 2018

In light of the detention of Shahidul Alam in Bangladesh, an important discussion at The Photographers' Gallery, London on 4 November.

#SpelZanelePride hosted by Lyrispect

POSTED: 25 October 2018

Inspired by our touring exhibition by Zanele Muholi, an afternoon of poetic proportions took place at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta

Hackney's Caribbean Tea Party

POSTED: 24 October 2018

Autograph was proud to take part in Hackney Council's event celebrating the Windrush Generation

ActionSpace Artists at Autograph

POSTED: 22 October 2018

Thompson Hall, Andrew Omoding and Ian Wornast joined us for Thursday Late at the gallery, sharing and discussing their work.