Photoworks is a UK development agency dedicated to photography, based in Brighton, England and founded in 1995. It commissions and publishes new photography and writing on photography; publishes the Photoworks Annual, a journal on photography and visual culture, tours Photoworks Presents, a live talks and events programme, and produces the Brighton Photo Biennial, the UK's largest international photography festival Brighton Photo Biennial,. It fosters new talent through the organisation of the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards in collaboration with the Jerwood Charitable Foundation.
It has published photography books by Daniel Meadows, Mark Power, Stephen Gill, Rinko Kawauchi and Joachim Schmid, and published books written or edited by Val Williams.
Photoworks is a registered charity, funded by Arts Council England and one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Photoworks in collaboration with local, national and international partners, connect artists with diverse audiences. Its internationally recognised programme includes commissions, exhibitions, publishing, learning and large-scale public events.
History
Photoworks formed out of the Cross Channel Photographic Mission (CCPM) arts project in St Leonards-on-Sea in 1995. It initially consisted of founding director and curator Anne McNeill and projects manager Liz Kent. In 1997, the organisation moved to Maidstone and then in 2003 to Brighton.
In 2011, Photoworks merged with Brighton Photo Biennial.
Directors
1995–1997: Anne McNeill
1997–2010: David Chandler
2010–2013: Emma Morris
2013–2017: Celia Davies
2018–present: Shoair Mavlian
Jerwood/Photoworks Awards
The Jerwood/Photoworks Awards is a biennial award given to emerging photographers in the UK who make their own photography, or those who use photographs, archives or found photography. It is a collaboration between the Jerwood Charitable Foundation and Photoworks, supported by Arts Council England, that launched in 2014.
The winners, announced early in the year, receive a financial award (£10,000 as of 2018) plus a £5,000 production fund, and mentoring programme for the duration of that year. The resulting work is shown in a group exhibition at Jerwood Space in London from November and tours to other venues in the UK (Impressions Gallery in Bradford and Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool in 2015 to 2016).
Winners
2015: Matthew Finn, Joanna Piotrowska and Tereza Zelenkova. Their mentors were Gillian Wearing, Simon Roberts, Broomberg & Chanarin, Alec Soth, Michael Mack, curator and art historian Rodrigo Orrantia and Financial Times photography critic Francis Hodgson. 2017: Alejandra Carles-Tolra, Sam Laughlin and Lua Ribeira. 2018: Silvia Rosi and Theo Simpson 2021: Heather Agyepong and Joanne Coates