ABOUT
AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
About us
The Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) is a leading institution in Australia dedicated to the art of photography and lens-based media. From 1974, the ACP has been a creative force in the cultural life of Australia, presenting the work of dynamic and diverse artists. The ACP presented the first major retrospectives of photographs by Max Dupain, Olive Cotton and Mervyn Bishop as well as the early exhibitions of works by Bill Henson, William Yang, Tracey Moffatt and Trent Parke.
The ACP holds at its core the vital contribution of artists and photographers in distilling and reflecting upon society, displaying a pluralism of perspectives and a breadth of artistic practice. ACP’s exhibitions, education and community programs have provided opportunities for audiences and peers to engage in a dynamic conversation about the significance of images, both past and present, within contemporary culture.
Our History
Officially founded in September 1973, the Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) was one of Australia’s oldest contemporary arts organisations. The ACP of the 1970s was a community-based exhibition space, that responded to a need to exhibit contemporary photography as works of art. The ACP opened in Paddington, Sydney on the 21st November 1974 as the first Government funded national organisation for the promotion of photography in Australia.
One of Australia’s leading photographers, David Moore conceived of the idea of a national centre for photography in 1970. The practitioner-based initiative was established and initially conceived as a non-profit, cultural organization, with aims to research, exhibit, publish, collect and generally encourage photography in Australia.
The original committee comprised of David Moore (photographer), Wesley Stacey (photographer), Peter Keyes (architect), Daniel Thomas (Curator of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of new South Wales), Laurence Le Guay (photographer) and Craig McGregor (writer). Funding was provided to The Australian Foundation of Photography from the Australia Council Visual Arts Board.
Contact Us
For all general enquiries
E info@acp.org.au
Board
Michael Blomfield
Michael Blomfield is an innovator and entrepreneur, with deep experience across Asia and Australia in a wide range of businesses as a CEO, a company director and an advisor. Michael has held a number of senior positions at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, notably with CommSec. He was Managing Director of APAC for a major global brokerage until 2011, and later Director of QiLu Bank, China. Michael brings to ACP his extensive experience in business as well as governance expertise, having served on the Boards of QiLu Bank (China) (2014-present), The Eye Surgeon’s Foundation (2016-17), Legs On The Wall (2008-09), the Commonwealth Bank Foundation (2006-08), and as Board Chairman of the Inaugural Musica Viva Chamber Music Festival (2007-08).
Richard Glover
Richard Glover is an architectural photographer and educator with over 25 years’ experience based in Sydney and London. He undertakes commissions from architects, designers, publishers, corporations and institutions including Foster & Partners, John Pawson, Phaidon Press, Opera Australia and Historic Houses Trust. His exhibiting practice reflects commercial and societal development of the built environment disrupted by inclement and deliberate transformational processes. This work has been exhibited at, or is held in the collections of Venice Architecture Biennale, Royal Institute of British Architects, The Royal Mint, Tate Galleries, Artbank and Art Gallery of New South Wales. He holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree from University of New South Wales, a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education, Teaching & Learning from University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and is a PhD candidate at RMIT University. He delivers specialist architectural photography subjects at UTS and the Australian Centre for Photography.
Sandra Bender
Sandra Bender has a 20-year career in the arts in Australia and internationally. Her most recent role was as Executive Director, Barangaroo Delivery Authority which oversees Barangaroo’s public domain operations and activities, including the delivery of public art and cultural partnerships. She has also worked as a senior executive with a range of events and organisations from the Parc del Forum (Spain), CITS (Canada), Australia Council for the Arts, Venice Biennale (Italy), SXSW (USA), Canada Council for the Arts, Musee du quai Branly (France) to SBS Subscription TV Ltd. (Australia). Sandra has held Board positions for Sydney’s Artspace, an artist-run centre, Performing Lines, producer of Australian contemporary performing arts touring nationally and internationally, Global Cultural Districts Network and the Australian Centre for Design.
Charmian Grove
Charmian Grove is a senior executive who has spent the last 20 years working in all aspects of the global photo industry including Director of Media Sales for Getty Images (2003-10), Reuters New York (2000-03) and Australian Associated Press in Sydney (1996-99). In 2010, she moved to Singapore where she successfully launched and operated her own photographic representation and stock agency, Orientography. Most recently she was located in London, where she became an active member and supporter of Women on a Mission and Women for Women International.
James Tylor
James Tylor is a visual artist who holds a Masters of Visual Art and Design (Photography) from the South Australia School of Art (2013). In his work, James reflects upon his multi-cultural heritage on Nunga (Kaurna), Maori (Te Awara) and European. In his recent work, Tylor re-conceptualises the representation of the Australian landscape, society and history. In 2019, his work was featured in a number of group exhibitions including: ‘Australian Photography’ at the Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego; ’52 Artists 52 Actions’, Artspace, Sydney; ‘Unbranded’, Bendigo Art Gallery, and ‘Aski Earth Terre Yarta’ at the ACP. In 2018, his work was featured in the 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at QAGOMA in Brisbane; ‘Void’, University of Technology, Sydney; ‘Colony: Frontier Wars’, National Gallery of Victoria; ‘Photo 50: Resolution is not the point’, London Art Fair, London, UK. His work has been exhibited in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award (2014, 2016 and 2019). His work is also featured in the permanent collections (selection): Artbank (Sydney); Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney); Art Gallery of Western Australia (Perth), and the University of Queensland Art Museum (Brisbane).
Merilyn Fairskye
Merilyn Fairskye is a Sydney based photographer whose recent video and photographic work explores the effects of powerful events of real life on humans and the environment. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally for over thirty-five years. Her practice, which traces the cultural, political and scientific webs that connect powerful events of real life, involves research, travel and the production of extended series of works that encompass a broad range of media and methods – from public artworks to video installations, films and photomedia. Her work is presented in over 180 exhibitions and festivals, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney; Songzhuang Art Museum, China; the National Palace Museum; Taipei; Al Jazeera International Documentary Film Festival, Doha; the International Film Festival, Rotterdam; Videobrasil; Kassel Documentary Film Festival and the Sydney Film Festival. Her feature-length film, Precarious, was nominated for the 2012 Al Jazeera Documentary Channel long-from film award. Between 2000-2014, she taught at the Sydney College of the Arts, where she was associate professor, Media Arts. Her roles included Acting Dean, Associate Research Dean, and Coordinator, Photomedia Studio.
David McCarthy
David McCarthy is the National Leader of Deloitte Restructuring Services based in Sydney and has over 20 years’ experience working with corporates, investors, financiers and government primarily in operational and financial restructurings. David’s career has included multiple global restructuring assignments working across the UK, US and Asia. David is a Chartered Accountant and a former member of the Turnaround Association of Australia’s NSW Organising Committee.
