Ethical Perspectives: THE NEW RURAL DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY // The Voicebox Arts Centre, Derby: 19 May 05

Malcolm Tibbert holds a copy of the BSE Inquiry report and a family album picture of his wife Margaret who died from vCJD. Photograph The Guardian 2000


Ethical Perspectives:
THE NEW RURAL DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY
A review of the professional challenges and responsibilities involved in working with marginal or disadvantaged rural communities.

10 am - 4.30 pm, Thursday 19th May 2005.
The Voicebox Arts Centre, Kensington Mews,Forman St. Derby, DE1 1JQ

Speakers will address ethical questions arising from recent photographic work on issues affecting rural communities, including such areas of controversy as animal welfare, the banning of hunting, BSE, FMD, and GMOs. The emphasis will then shift to discussion of the methodologies adopted by photographers working on projects about disadvantaged rural and fishing port communities, travellers, asylum seekers in rural areas, and farming families.

Case studies include: Kate Bellis, work with hill farming communities in Derbyshire and Northumberland; photographer Tony Fisher, documenting the links between North African immigrant farm labourers in Andalusia, and TESCO supermarket tomatoes in England; David Fine, a writer's perspective on FMD and rural issues; Nick May, a five year documentary project developed in collaboration with farmers in Cumbria whose stock was culled during the FMD outbreak in 2001; Sue Gaukroger, on work with rural communities and local histories in Derbyshire; Rizwan Mirza, on recent photography projects with Muslim communities in SE Asia, and a proposal to document UK farming families emigrating to Canada;. The session will conclude with proposals for a future UK/EU fishing port communities documentary photography project.

Farming and rural community leaders will be contributing to the seminar. They include; Gillian van der Meer, Chair of the Rural Cultural Forum, and Susan Atkinson, farmer and campaigner for public accountability in relation to vCJD.

The conference is supported by Arts Council England East Midlands,and coordinated by LITTORAL in association with the Rural Cultural Forum.

Registration is free (£5.00 donation for lunch and refreshments)
For more information, please contact:

LITTORAL Arts
42, Lodge Mill Lane, Turn Village, Ramsbottom Lancs BL0 0RW
Tel/Fax: ++44 (0) 1706 827 961
E-mail: littoral@btopenworld.com
website: www.littoral.org.uk