Introducing 1854 Media’s new advisory panel

Drawn from leading figures within the arts, culture, commerce and media industries, as of January 2020, 1854 Media’s advisory panel will help to shape and fulfil the mission at the core of our company: “To discover and empower the most talented photographers all over the world to realise their creative potential.”

Joining the panel is Martin Parr, perhaps one of the best-known living documentary photographers. A member of Magnum since 1994, and president of the agency from 2013 to 2017, Parr will offer an unprecedented insight into the industry as both a practitioner and collector. He has published over 100 of his own titles, and over the past 25 years has built a formidable collection of photobooks and prints, archived at his eponymous foundation in Bristol. 

Tblisi, Georgia, 2019
© Martin Parr Collection / Magnum Photos
Martin Parr has also curated several major photography festivals and exhibitions.

Sir Brian Pomeroy CBE is also part of our new panel. Former Chair of The Photographers’ Gallery, and current chair of the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation, Pomeroy has also served as a member of the RPS Awards Committee. As well as being an active photographer and collector, Pomeroy is also a former senior partner at Deloitte Consulting.

Orsolya Kőrösi, founder and managing director of the Robert Capa Center for Contemporary Photography in Budapest, Hungary, will also be joining the panel.  And along with the former Deputy Secretary of State, is Malaysia-born French curator Julia De Bierre, who founded Galerie Huit Arles, a dedicated exhibition and residency space for both established and emerging photographers.

Author, curator and heritage-conservationist Julia De Bierre is a trustee of the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation.

Across the pond we have Matt McGowan, a born and bred New Yorker now working in Toronto, Canada, as General Manager for camera company Snap Inc, owner of Snapchat. And in Japan we have Sungwon Kim, a Korean-born, Tokyo-based photographer with over 12 years of experience at Dentsu Inc, Japan’s largest advertising agency.

Making up the rest of our impressive initial panel is Leica UK’s Managing Director Jason Heward, former thetrainline CFO Jon Mitchell, British photographers Lee Fulmer and Simon Roberts, Berlin-based visual artist Schmoo Theune, documentary photographer Carol Allen-Storey, historian and educator Dr Michael Pritchard, technology founder and investor Howard Lee, and media consultants Carolyn Morgan and Joe Phelan.

Prior to becoming managing director at Leica, Jason Heward held senior roles in government departments for business, education and equality.
After completing her studies in Baltimore, Schmoo Theune moved to Silicon Valley and spent nearly a decade with marketing teams developing content platforms and communities in the digital photography industry.

Coming into effect from January 2020, the panel will be advising on many aspects of 1854 Media’s services for photographers. As well as publishing the British Journal of Photography, 1854 Media is responsible for some of the world’s most viewed exhibitions and largest photographic awards, including Portrait of Britain™ and Portrait of Humanity™. Our visual content agency, Studio 1854, has undertaken global commissions with brands including adidas, Lucasfilm, and VisitCalifornia, working with both emerging and established photographers to deliver creative campaigns with a focus on authentic visual storytelling.