FOLLOWING a successful run at London’s Barbican Art Gallery, Strange and Familiar: Britain as Revealed by International Photographers is set to launch at Manchester Art Gallery this Friday (25 November).
Curated by both the Barbican and British photographer Martin Parr, the revealing exhibition will showcase a range of over 200 photographs by some of the leading 20th century photographers, as well as a specially-commissioned selection of images that centre around the city of Manchester itself.
Curated at a time of great national uncertainty in the wake of Brexit, the show aims to project the way in which Britain is perceived by the rest of the world, through the eyes of multiple photographers that hail from outside the UK.
Consisting of a vast body of work that spans over 70 years, it examines how photography has consistently captured the social, cultural, and political identity of the United Kingdom in a variety of forms, from social documentary and portraiture to street and architectural photography.
Commissioner Martin Parr describes the exhibition’s premise as a wholly refreshing outlook on Britain. Explaining its odd namesake, he said:
“It reveals a very different take on British life than that produced by British photographers. It is both familiar and strange at the same time.”
In addition to the work put together by Parr and the Barbican, the show will also feature a number of specially commissioned pieces from Romanian photographer Alex Beldea. These photographs focus specifically on a variety of themes and subjects that reflect Manchester as we know it – a city that had found itself somewhat neglected in this unorthodox portrait of modern Britain and many others like it.
Working with a diverse range of people, all of whom access the gallery’s learning programmes, Beldea succeeds in capturing contemporary Manchester through the eyes of the gallery’s learners and volunteers.
In addition to the work on show, the team and Manchester Art Gallery will be challenging visitors to capture their own portraits of Manchester – be it people, places or events – in an attempt to ‘make manchester present again’. Photographs should all be inspired by the Strange and Familiar Exhibition and shared on twitter using the hashtag #MAGstrangeandfamiliar.
All images submitted will be shown at the gallery – the best one will be selected to be sold as a postcard in the gallery shop.
Strange and familiar is launching at Manchester Art Gallery on Friday, November 25th and will run until May 29th 2017.
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