Your Sunday Inspiration ✨

Rica May, Slidefest Palestine, Akihiko Okamura and more ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ James D Kelly, Sailor Boy, 2023, presented by Guerin Projects at Photo London 2024, Main Section It’s a busy week here in London, with [Photo London]( coming to Somerset House from Wednesday and [Peckham 24]( festival launching on Friday evening. The two events exist in different spheres of the UK photography ecosystem, with Photo London mirroring the traditional art fair structure, while Peckham 24 emerged from (and continues to champion) London’s grassroots image-making scene, including those connected with the city’s art schools and universities. In recent years Photo London has become more academic in its treatment of the history of photography – The Magic Art of French Calotype: Paper Negative Photography 1846-1860 is one of the headline shows in the public programme this year – and also more international, as director Kamiar Maleki’s inclusion of eight Turkish galleries demonstrates. The big names are all involved: Thames & Hudson is leading the talks programme - Peter van Agtmael discussing his book Look at the U.S.A. with Sean O’Hagan will be excellent on Thursday. Meanwhile the winner of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize will be announced at The Photographers’ Gallery that evening too. (A show of works from the DB collection is also on show at Somerset House). Look out for book signings from Derek Ridgers, Lola & Pani, Lydia Goldblatt and several from a certain Mr Parr, while we’d also recommend Shining Lights, a panel discussion on Wednesday featuring Joy Gregory, Ingrid Pollard, Carole Wright, and Roshini Kempadoo, who will discuss Gregory’s epic catalogue of overlooked Black women photographers in the 1980s and 1990s. (Look out for a special interview with Gregory in our forthcoming Ones to Watch issue). In terms of exhibitions, the fair’s Discovery section remains the best place to start; you can brush up on curator Charlotte Jansen’s vision for this year’s slot (and a few gallery recommendations) in her interview with our editor Diane Smyth [here](. Turning to Peckham 24, we’re very excited to see Rachel Maclean’s film DUCK, “a daring deepfake short that follows Sean Connery’s unravelling after he witnesses Marilyn Monroe’s return from the dead” (what’s not to like?), and Emi O’Connell’s project on her grandmother’s escape from an Irish mother-and-baby home. The festival as a whole riffs on this disruption of linear time with its theme Back to the Future, which Lina Geoushy explores in Trailblazers, a counter-history of inspiring Egyptian women rendered in new self-portraits. The winners of the V&A and Parasol Foundation Prize will also be on show: Aisha Seriki, Nancy Floyd, Silvia Rosi and Mia Weiner, whose tapestries add some dynamic material variation to the show, while Floyd’s vast bank of self-portraits made over 40 years is an artistic and anthropological feat by any measure. Peckham 24’s book fair has also been expanded this year (it’s now called A Bigger Book Fair, running Friday 17th until the 19th), and features the likes of Terra Firma magazine, Overlapse and 1000 Words. Our friends at [Bluecoat Press]( will also be there, hosting signings with Carolyn Mendelsohn, Mike Abrahams and Janine Wiedel. Abrahams will sign the first copies of new book This Was Then, a three-decade survey of life in the UK before, during and after Thatcher. The main part of the festival runs into next week too, as does the talks programme. Our deputy editor Ravi Ghosh will be in conversation with exhibiting artists Duncan Poulton and Laura Chen at 11am on 25th May at Copeland Gallery. There’s plenty to enjoy – do say hello if you’re at either venue. ‘It’s important now more than ever’: Slidefest Palestine comes to London In a one-off event at the Stephen Lawrence Gallery, Slidefest brings together five photographers exploring overlooked aspects of Palestinian life [Read more]( [Build the way you want]( Derry via Tokyo: How an outsider captured the Troubles in colour Akihiko Okamura photographed the Vietnam War before arriving in Ireland – and his view of the North’s sectarian violence was uniquely poetic [Read more]( [Build the way you want]( Bleaching Polaroids highlights the toxicity of western beauty standards Reacting against the aesthetic norms in her native Philippines, Rica May Tumanguil manipulates her self-portraits in the manner of Stephen Gill [Read more]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [1854 Media Ltd, 244-254 Cambridge Heath Rd, Cambridge Heath, London, E2 9DA, United Kingdom Click here to update your email preferences]( [Click here to unsubscribe from all emails](