The first ever Carlisle Photography Festival, running 16 - 27 April 2012, will introduce the people of Carlisle to the emerging talent of 29 photographers. In a series of five free exhibitions award winning photographers from England, Scotland, Denmark, Poland and Finland will display their newest work.

The themes of nature, family, documentary, self-portraits and still life will be explored across five venues situated within walking distance of Carlisle city centre.

The first two exhibitions, FACE and Life As We Know It, launch the festival on 16 April. Seeds of Change opens on 17 April. Home Sweet Home opens on 20 April and the final exhibition, Outside the Box, opens on 24 April.

FACE is a collection of the latest in contemporary portraiture. This exhibition offers a diverse mix of street, studio and self portraits for 2012 and features works by Adam Bowman, Pete Greenwood, Chris Mullen, George Platt, Laura Ramsey, Eleanor de Chastelain Simpson and JC Wrightson.

Home Sweet Home investigates themes of personal identity and the family home, exploring the idea that within the four walls of the family home, there exist very different feelings, memories and fears. Featuring works from Anna Bridges, Nicola Chambers and Simon Whyte.

Life as We Know It is a collection of eight artists who have come together to express their individual interpretations of life through a cathartic and empathic process. The work looks at aspects of life that concerns the photographers. Feature works from Annie Pendlebury-Beal, Kimberly Bell, Julie Elise, Katie Forde, Kim Mair, May Tipler-Noble, Zuzanna Sirkorska and Sally Wilde.

Seeds of Change brings together an eclectic representation of how photographers respond to the self and personal history and features works from Zoe Daffern, Gillian Gilbert, Steph Halsall, Danielle Hawkins, Sarah Louise Jackson, Annika Savola.

Outside The Box is a group exhibition of five photographers that have collaborated on work about nature. The exhibition explores people in the wild, animals and the spectacular views that the nature provides us featuring works by William Coombs, Jake Crabtree, Tania Gibson, Charlotte Nichols and Sarah Whiting.