MARCH 2015: With the generous support of the LUMA Foundation, Photo London has commissioned four exhibitions at Somerset House to open concurrently with the fair this May: Beneath the Surface, some 200 rarely-shown photographic works from the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Photographs Collection; previously unseen large-format platinum prints from Sebastião Salgado’s Genesis series; the first UK exhibition of Iranian photographer Kāveh Golestān’s Prostitute series and The Teaser, a public lightbox installation to be shown in the courtyard produced by Rut Blees Luxemburg in collaboration with Alexander García Düttmann and Nuno Salgado.

Programmed in spaces ranging from cafés to lecture theatres around the site and beyond, Photo London’s lively talks and lectures programme, curated by Professor Francis Hodgson, will feature some two dozen luminaries from the field, including Don McCullin, Sebastião Salgado, Susan Derges, Todd Hido, Mitch Epstein, Rineke Djkstra, Rankin and Stephen Shore. The programme will also carry a special focus on collecting photography and the issues surrounding it, whether for the individual collector, corporations or major cultural institutions.

Celebrating London’s vibrant music scene, the Deadhouse space beneath the courtyard will host four evening events as part of the public programme, in which music photography will be matched to live DJ sets. This programme will include collaborations with YoYo, Just Jam and Rinse FM with imagery from Beth Lesser and disco photographer Bill Bernstein.

Photo London’s public programme will also encourage debate on digital photography, Instagram, and the proliferation of the image, under the #PhotoLondon15 hashtag.

Photo London will host several important awards. First among these will be the Photo London Masters Award which will be presented each year in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of photography. There will also be an award, supported by the John Kobal Foundation, made to the most outstanding emerging photographer to be shown at Photo London. In addition, Photo London will host the Magnum 30/30 award and present the finalists of the LensCulture awards.

The arrival of Photo London has catalysed a city-wide celebration of photography - effectively London’s first ‘photo week’ - which will now include auctions of vintage and contemporary works at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips, the Offprint photo book fair at Tate Modern, specially programmed symposia and presentations at the National Portrait Gallery, and linked exhibitions at both museums and commercial galleries throughout the city.

‘‘I am delighted that the LUMA Foundation has been the catalyst for the development of such a rich and varied public programme, featuring an extraordinary journey from the very early days of photography to experiments with possibilities of the form - both in the digital sphere and though collaborations with writers and musicians. I look forward to seeing (and hearing) the results.’’ MAJA HOFFMAN, PRESIDENT, THE LUMA FOUNDATION

‘‘I should like to thank Maja Hoffmann for her wonderful support. I should also like to pay tribute to the artists, producers and curators whose collective genius runs through our first public programme. Through your efforts we will engage, excite and intrigue a huge number of people - some of whom would run screaming from a conventional art fair. We also hope that the public programme will enthuse many people to start collecting photography. And finally, it is with huge pleasure that I am able to announce that Sebastião Salgado has agreed to become the first Photo London Master of Photography.’’ MICHAEL BENSON, CO-DIRECTOR, PHOTO LONDON

COMISSIONED EXHIBITIONS:
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM AND PHOTO LONDON: BENEATH THE SURFACE This selection reflects the exhibition’s riverfront location in one of London’s most ancient quarters, focussing on images of water, the topography of the city and the people within it. Drawn from a collection that dates back to 1852, these rarely-displayed photographs have been chosen by Martin Barnes, the V&A’s Senior Curator of Photographs, and include works by Susan Derges, Nigel Shafran, Sinje Dillenkofer, Stephen Gill, Robert Brownjohn, Victor Prout, Thurston Hopkins and Brassaï, among others.

‘‘I am delighted to have the opportunity to share the V&A’s collection as part of the first Photo London at Somerset House. Photo London will be an excellent opportunity to show how photography in London and the UK is thriving, through exhibitions, teaching, practice and debate, and increasingly through collecting. The event is already proving to be a catalyst for making the creative connections that the medium and people involved in photography thrive upon.’’ MARTIN BARNES, SENIOR CURATOR OF PHOTOGRAPHS, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM

The exhibition is a Photo London commission, and will be accessible with a Photo London ticket for the duration of the fair. After the fair, tickets for the exhibition can be purchased through Somerset House from 27 March at www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/beneath-the-surface Embankment Galleries East, 21 May – 24 August