The Joburg Photo Umbrella is the first public photography-specific programme in the city of Johannesburg to bring together and network a wide range of photography content, exhibitions, activities and dialogue. The Market Photo Workshop with the British Council Connect ZA, in partnership with Brighton Photo Biennial in the UK, under the hospice of the SA-UK Seasons 2014 & 2015, saw a need for bringing the photography communities together.

Download Joburg Photo Umbrella 2014 Programme

The idea of an umbrella being inclusive of different elements is key to this project, as it seeks to be inclusive of the various visual art institutions that operate within Johannesburg. Working in partnership with these various institutions to develop interest in photography and create a platform to cultivate visual literacy by making the medium more accessible to the general public. The Joburg Photo Umbrella seeks to encourage critical engagement of photography by working through the boundaries, which the discipline negotiates.

Projects forming part of the Joburg Photo Umbrella include: exhibitions – the main exhibition A Return to Elsewhere, a collaboration between UK based photographer Kalpesh Lathigra and SA photographer Thabiso Sekgala, is co-commission by the Joburg Photo Umbrella and Brighton Photo Biennial 2014. An open call for photo-based projects, workshops, talks and photography screenings, of which there are 11 projects in and around Johannesburg. The participation of art institutions and galleries around Johannesburg is a key component of the project. Joburg Photo Umbrella is proud to be associated with Stevenson, Goethe-Institute Johannesburg, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Ithuba Art Gallery, David Krut Projects, Hector Pieterson Museum, Museum Africa, Bensusan Museum & Library of Photography, Two by Two Art Studio, Kalashnikovv Gallery, Eyethu Gallery/Arts Project.

Join the launch at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown on the 8 November from 10am – 5pm with opening speeches at 12noon. It will be day of photography, an open-air market and light music.

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