Today, we announce that 1854 and the British Journal of Photography is under new ownership, bringing with it what we hope to be a momentous return to our heritage by championing photography through our editorial platforms.
A want to reconnect British Journal of Photography to the brand’s core values and loyal readership sees this transfer come to a new private owner and lifelong BJP reader.
Like many creative companies, in recent months 1854 has faced some of its greatest challenges. In our case, there have also been changes to our company and brand that seemingly came without full explanation. We thank you for your patience as we confirmed our position in order to bring you an update once the time was right. Now is that time.
With this announcement, we say farewell to our former colleague Marc Hartog as he completely steps away as owner, CEO and chairman of 1854 Media to pursue new interests with his now independent business, ART3.
We will continue to have a relationship with ART3 in the form of an optional NFT drop participation for our award winners across the next 24 months. We do so in support for our former team member as we wish him success. 1854 has no intention of pursuing any further NFT-related partnerships beyond this.
Our new senior management team comprises core team members previously at 1854. Driven by a love for what we represent and the dedication to keep the BJP going, we have spent the last few months working hard to be in a position to make this announcement to you today. We are thrilled to have BJP’s Creative Director of 25 years, Mick Moore as our new CEO.
Editorial direction remains with our celebrated Editorial Director Izabela Radwanska Zhang, BJP’s first female Editor, and supported by BJP’s award-winning editorial team.
Speaking to what this means for the future, we will take this opportunity to focus on serving and supporting our community. You can also expect to see a return to the old, as we concentrate on building on the core values of our brand, and the activities that have contributed to it over its 168-year history.
Materially, we aim for this to be realised through more events, more discussion, more exhibitions, more activations, and a more accessible BJP. We will continue to print bi-monthly, and to develop our international programme of awards. Our online presence remains at home on 1854.photography and distributed via our BJP-dedicated social media channels, and the BJP App.
We welcome further questions regarding this announcement via the contact form on our main contact page, or directly to hello@1854.media. We also invite feedback beyond this via these same channels, with our team open to hearing these messages and responding where appropriate.
For our team, today marks the start of a new way forward for BJP, and we only hope that you find yourself a part of it.
Warm Regards,
The 1854 Team