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In partnership with The Photographers’ Gallery, with Freelands Foundation support
Dianne Minnicucci was the inaugural resident artist for Autograph’s Visible Practice Residency, a three-year project supporting Artist Teachers from global majority backgrounds in arts education. During the residency she developed a new body of work that marked a significant expansion of her practice, producing a series of autobiographical self-portraits placing herself at the centre of the work.
Minnicucci’s poetic black-and-white photographs explore family, memory and belonging. Made within the ancient woodland of Abbey Wood in South London, the series includes portraits of herself and her young son, foregrounding her roles as artist and mother. Turning the camera on herself for the first time, she embraced the discomfort of being photographed as a method of reflection and artistic expansion.
The classroom and her role as a teacher formed a central site for developing and sharing the work. Photographs were developed in dialogue with students, allowing the project to evolve through collective exchange.
The residency culminated in two exhibitions: Dianne Minnicucci: Belonging and Beyond at Autograph, presenting the photographic series and Dialogue in The Making, a group exhibition at Thomas Tallis School in which Minnicucci presented new work alongside fellow artists from the Art Department.
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Dianne Minnicucci (born 1977, Darlington, UK) is a London-based visual artist exploring the boundaries of documentary storytelling. Rooted autobiographically, her work presents familial moments loaded with intimacy.
She is interested in a sensitive, intuitive approach to documentary style photography, unravelling the tension between the obscuring and unveiling of identity, knowing and unknowing, desire and fear.
Minnicucci studied Fine Art Film and Video at Central St. Martins. She is Head of Photography at Thomas Tallis School in south east London.
Supporting artist-teachers to develop a new body of work, within and beyond the school environment.
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Minnicucci's solo exhibition at Autograph
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An exhibition by the Art Department exploring how creative practice grows through teaching an making, both inside and beyond the classroom
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Minnicucci's works were displayed in the public realm at Tabernacle Street and Clerkenwell Road, London
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Three of Minnicucci's works are now part of Autograph's permanent collection of photography, where they have been conserved and digitised
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A new film capturing the impact of Minnicucci's residency within the classroom
Watch | 6 min video
Writer Marlene Wylie responds to Minnicucci's exhibition and considers the importance of supporting inclusive and anti-racist practice in creative education
Read blog post | 5 min read
Minnicucci discusses her creative practice within and beyond the school environment
Read | 9 min read
Teacher John Nicholls unpacks the importance of this work and introduces an exhibition featuring works by ten teachers and technicians from Thomas Tallis School
Read | 6 min read 
Dianne Minnicucci's public realm display on Tabernacle Street, London
New work produced by Dianne Minnicucci
Minnicucci working with Autograph's curators
Artist Zanele Muholi visits Thomas Tallis School
Minnicucci and her students participating in a workshop led by Adrian Wood
Banner image: Dianne Minnicucci, from the series Belonging and Beyond [detail], 2025. © and courtesy the artist.
Images on page:
About the Residency: 1-4) Dianne Minnicucci, from the series Belonging and Beyond, 2024-2025. © and courtesy Dianne Minnicucci.
About The Artist: 5) Courtesy Dianne Minnicucci. Part of The Project: 6) Image courtesy of Autogtraph.
In Pictures: 7) Dianne Minnicucci's public realm display on Tabernacle Street, London. Photo by Steven Wiggins. 8) Image courtesy of Autograph. 9) Minnicucci working with Autograph's Senior Curator and Exhibition Manager. 10) Zanele Muholi visiting Thomas Tallis School, October 2024. Image © and courtesy Sajan Selvamaniy. 11) Minnicucci and her students participating in a workshop led by Adrian Wood. Image courtesy of Autograph.
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Autograph is a space to see things differently. Since 1988, we have championed photography that explores issues of race, identity, representation, human rights and social justice, sharing how photographs reflect lived experiences and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.
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