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Event - Derek Henderson Artist Talk

01/12/2008 - images © Malcolm Smith

Set amidst his new exhibition I go down to the river to pray, Derek Henderson talks about the ideas and processes behind this recent series. I go down to the river to pray combines documentary and landscape photography resulting in intense 'anti heroic' portrayals of life in small town New Zealand.

Event - Trent Parke Artist Talk

25/11/2008 - images © Malcolm Smith

Trent Parke is the first Australian to become a full member of Magnum Photo Agency and is widely acknowledged as one of the most challenging photographers of his generation. In this floor talk Trent Parke discussed the dark forces that lurk beneath The Christmas Tree Bucket.

Opening - The Christmas Tree Bucket: Trent Parke's Family Album, Derek Henderson's I go down to the river to pray and Selected Works by Erwin Olaf

24/11/2008 - images © Ella Condon

The ACP welcomed in the silly season with the launch of three new shows from Trent Parke, Derek Henderson and Erwin Olaf. Guests came dressed in their Christmas best to celebrate the world premier showing of Trent Parke's latest series The Christmas Tree Bucket.

Image Credits (left to right):

Trent Parke, Narelle Autio and their son Dash at the entrance to the Christmas Tree Bucket
Trent Parke and Narelle Autio
Children enjoying the exhibition and an early Christmas
Derek Henderson with guests in front of some of the work from his latest series, I go down to the river to pray

Daegu Photo Biennale 2008 - 31 October to 16 November

21/11/2008 - images © (1, 3 & 4) Daegu Photo Biennale, (2, 5 & 6) ACP

ACP Director, Alasdair Foster, attended the Daegu Photo Biennale 2008 as a guest reviewer earlier this month. Staged in the city of Daegu in the south east region of South Korea, the 2008 festival was put together by Artistic Director, Bohnchang Koo. The central exhibition, presented at the impressive EXCO exhibition centre, explored photography past and present from Korea, China and Japan, while further exhibitions were staged around the city. The festival included the work of more than 200 photographers from 10 counties and attracted a record 70,000 visitors in the two weeks it was on show. During an intensive two-day period at the start of the festival 25 reviewers from around the world reviewed the work of over 60 photographers.

Image Credits (left to right):

'Then and Now' showing at EXCO, Daegu Photo Biennale 2008
An impressive nine tenors launch the festival
'Then and Now'
The Australian Ambassador, Mr Peter Rowe, speaks during opening ceremony, with the photographer and former Minister of Culture, Yoon Jooyoung (left) and the Chairman of the Daegu Photo Biennale, H. Edward Kim (right)
Alasdair Foster and Rhonda Wilson, Artistic Director of the UK photo festival, Rhubarb-Rhubarb, strike suitable poses in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea exhibition
Photographers and reviewers during a session of the Meeting Place

Panel Discussion - Witness: Photographing Human Suffering

19/11/2008 - Images © Malcolm Smith

Hosted by ABC journalist Mark Corcoran, panellists included Kate Geraghty, Stephen Dupont and Brendan Esposito. Panel members discussed the complex ethical and moral considerations involved in photojournalism.

Image Credits (left to right):

Panellists (left to right) Brendan Esposito, Kate Geraghty, Stephen Dupont and Mark Corcoran
The crowd in attendance at the panel discussion

Opening - The 2008 Nikon-Walkley Press Photo Exhibition

05/11/2008 - Images © Ella Condon

The 2008 Nikon-Walkley Press Photo Exhibition opened at the ACP to a crowd of industry professionals and fans of Australian photojournalism. Chris Warren, Federal Secretary of the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance, Tamara Voninski, a past Walkleys finalist and James Murray, the Marketing Manager of Nikon opened the exhibition.

The Nikon-Walkley Photographic Awards are the most prestigious competition for press photographers in Australia. The 130 photographs will be exhibited at the ACP until November 15 after which they will move to Brisbane's Powerhouse Museum in February 2009 and Wallsend District Library in Newcastle from mid-March 2009.

Opening - Pedro Meyer's Heresies and Giorgia Fiorio's Human Figure

15/10/2008 - Images © Ella Condon

The ACP joined over sixty other galleries and museums around the world when Pedro Meyer's Heresies was opened last Thursday. Heresies spans five decades of work by one of the world's most innovative photomedia artists. The opening of Italian photojournalist Giorgia Fiorio's Human Figure was celebrated on the same night. This exhibition is part of Reportage 2008, a festival celebrating international and local photojournalism.

Image Credits (left to right):

Alasdair Foster, Director of the ACP talks with Her Excellency, Mrs Martha Ortiz De Rosas, Ambassador of Mexico, who officially opened Heresies
Guests engage with the electronic archive included in Pedro Meyer's retrospective
A large crowd gather to view the work of Giorgia Fiorio, an exhibition presented as part of Reportage 2008

Tea with... the Celebrities

15/10/2008 - Images © Virginia Chen

This panel explored the inner workings of fame from the point of view of a fan, an industry professional, an internet 'celebrity' and an academic. Panellists included Richard Simpkin (Richard & Famous), paparazzi photographer Peter Carette, Youtube celebrity Natalie Tran (Community Channel) and Professor Catharine Lumby is the Director of the Journalism and Media Research Centre at the University of NSW.

Image Credits (left to right):

Richard Simpkin, Peter Carette, Natalie Tran and Catharine Lumby
Richard Simpkin and the host, Malcolm Smith
Over eighty people were in attendance

Tea with... the Printers

15/10/2008 - Images © Virginia Chen & Malcolm Smith

For many photographers, deciding between pigment and analogue printing can be difficult and costly decision. In the discussion panellists argued the pros and cons of old and new technologies. Speakers include; Sandra Barnard (Sandy Prints), Warren Macris (Giclee Australia), Chris Reid (Blanco Negro) and writer/photographer Geoff McGeachin.

Image Credits (left to right):

Geoff McGeachin talks with Chris Reid from Blanco Negro
Sandra Barnard from Sandy Prints with a black and white print
Geoff McGeachin talks with Warren Macros from Giclee Australia
Photographer, writer and ACP workshop lecturer Geoff McGeachin, hosted the panel discussion
Geoff McGeachin and panel members Chris Reid (Blanco Negro), Sandra Barnard (Sandy Prints), and Warren Macris (Giclee Australia)
Photographers listen in to the discussion

Opening - Avatar, Justine Cooper's Havidol and Richard Simpkin's Richard & Famous

The Superhuman series opened at the ACP on Thursday 4 September, the exhibitions Avatar, Havidol and Richard & Famous all address the possibilities as well as the pitfalls of being a mere human living in the modern world. These days, we all feel the pressure to be more confident, more self aware and more success focussed. But are the celebrities we aspire to be like actually real? If we could be whoever we wanted to be, who would we be? And ultimately; is just being yourself enough anymore?

Image Credits (left to right):

Guests enjoy Richard Simpkin's journey from fresh faced teen to middle age as documented by over three hundred celebrity snapshots
Myfanwy Ashmore's Swing, part of Avatar
DJ Dog cranking out the tunes on opening night

Opening - Minutes to Midnight (Delhi, India)

The ACP touring exhibition of Trent Parke's Minutes to Midnight opened in Delhi last month to an enthusiastic response. Launched by the Australian High Commissioner to India, John McCarthy, the exhibition opened at the High Commission and then transferred to the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS). Photography is still not widely recognized as an art form in India, but reports indicate that Trent Parke's images were "showered with praises for their sheer brilliance" by the many visitors to the exhibition.

Minutes to Midnight is touring in South Asia through the DRIK photo agency, Dhaka and the Chobi Mela photo festival. The presentation at the AIFACS, Delhi ran from 12 to 27 July, 2008. It was arranged by DRIK India and made possible through the continuing support of the Australian High Commission.

Minutes to Midnight premiered at ACP in January 2005, since when ACP has been touring the exhibition in Australasia, with a second edition of the exhibition touring South Asia. Trent Parke is a member of the Magnum photo agency.

Image Credits (left to right):

Guests view Minutes to Midnight at the Australian High Commission, Delhi
Inauguration at the Australian High Commission, Delhi
Preparing to open Minute to Midnight at AIFACS, Delhi

Opening - Darren Sylvester Our Future Was Ours, Marian Drew Every Living Thing and James Brickwood Schoolies

Thursday 24 July saw the opening of three new exhibitions at the ACP; Darren Sylvester's Our Future Was Ours, Marian Drew's Every Living Thing and James Brickwood's Schoolies. These exhibitions will continue to 30 August.

See Also: Complete 2008 News Archive