© Yuxing Chen
The festival sweeps the South Coast of England this October, in community photo initiatives and global stories – from Malawi to Eastern Europe
Photo Fringe 2024 returns this October across Brighton, Hove, Newhaven, and, for the first time, Portsmouth. With its open-platform ethos, Photo Fringe allows photographers of all experience levels to showcase their art, making it one of the UK’s most inclusive photography festivals, according to its team.
With over 60 physical exhibitions and 30 more available online, the 2024 edition is unified by the theme of Common Ground. Festival director Claire Wearn explains that the theme was inspired by “the reciprocity of the women farmers featured in Arpita Shah’s project Sankofa,” co-commissioned with The Gaia Foundation for their We Feed The UK campaign. The theme, open to interpretation, has inspired a diverse range of responses, from social documentary to deeply personal work, addressing community, identity, and shared experiences.
“Our aim, as ever, is to remove as many barriers to exhibiting as we can, allowing photographers of all levels of experience to exhibit together”
Among the projects is The Bears by Alejandra Carles-Tolra, which makes its UK debut ahead of its exhibition at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. This series, which focuses on a group of women rugby players, delves into questions of identity, tradition and gender. It will be exhibited at Phoenix Art Space from 23-27 October.
Newhaven plays host to A Land Within (1-14 November), curated by Jane & Jeremy. This group exhibition explores human connections to the land, with work by Rhiannon Adam, Alison Lloyd, and others. Adam, in particular, presents a new body of work reflecting on her experience as one of the creatives chosen for the now-cancelled dearMoon mission – a civilian spaceflight project once destined for outer space. Lloyd, who passed away earlier this year, will also be celebrated in a posthumous exhibition at John Marchant Gallery (opening 25 October), marking the first solo show dedicated to her work since her death.
The community spirit of Photo Fringe is particularly visible in the many outdoor installations that punctuate Brighton’s streets and public spaces. Becky Warnock’s project at The Moulsecoomb Forest Garden, for example, exemplifies the festival’s grassroots approach. Working alongside local gardeners, Warnock created a series of photographs that now adorn public areas like a railway footbridge and Brighton beach. “I love that so many people, and a large number who would be unlikely to visit a gallery, will see the work,” Wearn notes of the outdoor exhibits.
James Kendall’s show, Wasted on the Young, for example, is pasted onto the exterior walls of a pub. And Carrying Life by Laura El-Tantawy displayed outside St Peter’s Church, commissioned by WaterAid and supported by the Wimbledon Foundation, documents the challenges faced by women in Malawi giving birth without access to clean water.
As always, the festival’s Collectives Hub, hosted at Phoenix Art Space, is a major draw. Eight collectives, selected from an open call, will exhibit work exploring Common Ground. Among them are Brighton Queer Photographers Collective, the London Alternative Photography Collective, and Emic Collective, each offering unique perspectives on shared experiences and communities. The Hub highlights the collaborative spirit of the festival.
Photo Fringe also pays tribute to the late social documentary photographer Tish Murtha with The British Culture Archive’s display of her iconic work, which captures life in working-class communities in North East England, alongside new photography inspired by her legacy. Held at 3 Dukes Lane, the exhibition is complemented by the Documenting Your Community project, which celebrates contemporary social documentary photography from across Britain.
Expanding beyond Brighton, Photo Fringe has, for the first time, embraced the coastal city of Portsmouth, Wearn’s home city. “Portsmouth has warmly embraced the Fringe spirit and created excellent shows,” she tells me. With its commitment to accessibility and experimentation, the festival’s expansive program invites visitors to explore, question, and connect with the world through photography.
Reflecting on this year’s festival, Wearn adds: “Our aim, as ever, is to remove as many barriers to exhibiting as we can, allowing photographers of all levels of experience to exhibit together, showing how photography can help us see things differently and envisage a fairer world.”
For those unable to visit in person, many exhibitions are accessible online at photofringe.org. Looking ahead, the festival encourages photographers and enthusiasts alike to get involved in future editions, with hopes that the spirit of creativity and connection fostered this year will continue to grow. For those visiting Brighton from 24-27 October, there is also the Photoworks Weekender, offering workshops, spoken word, and exhibitions – including the first installation of Felicity Hammond’s travelling and evolving Variations, on show in Jubilee Square.