At nearly every Redeye event we host, we get asked about making a living out of photography. Our members and the wider photographic community are always on the lookout for opportunities to create new work, collaborate with inspiring partners and importantly they want to ensure they get paid fair fees for doing so.
Photography commissions play an integral role in developing new work in photography. Often experimental and socially engaged, commissions can offer an inspiring landscape to work within allowing you to connect with communities, work towards a collective brief and dedicate quality time to your practice.
Companies and organisations are now more than ever using photography as a means to promote the work they do and communicate their message to a wider audience.
Sarah Fisher, Director of Open Eye Gallery tells us:
'Photography is more important to understanding our lives and culture than it has ever been. As billions of people every day share their lives on social media, it is as important as text or verbal communication. Great photography shared is powerful and as more people who commission artists come to understand this, more photographers will be commissioned within wider contexts.'
As a photography network, we aim to connect the dots between the commissioners and the photographers to encourage better opportunities for all. So, on Saturday 13th May Redeye will be in Liverpool to take part in the LOOK/17 Photography Festival at the Victoria Gallery & Museum to pose the question; can more be done to commission for change? And how can we build relationships between the commissioners seeking photographic talent and the photographers looking for new inspiration and paid briefs?
The morning will begin with presentations from a panel of commissioners who will share their experiences and in particular why they commission, and what makes a good collaboration with an artist or photographer. Then we will hear from photographers such as Liz Hingley and Tadhg Devlin who have recently delivered successful briefs for commissioners.
After lunch, the event format shifts and we will encourage the audience and speakers to network in breakout spaces to discuss the questions posed in the morning’s session. Our hope is that new partnerships and commissions are made within the walls of the Victoria Gallery & Museum.
As the saying goes, great ideas are worthless without execution. So, if you are a photographer looking to build professional links with commissioners, come along and be part of the discussion at our Commissioning for Change Lab with LOOK/17. Read on here to see the full line-up of speakers on the day.
Image: Tadhg Devlin With SURF group.