The Body in the Library

Conway Hall has a rich history and legacy of radical thought and has been home to many movements centred around social change and ethical thinking. The library houses a fascinating collection of books and journals that trace this history and we are excited that it will be the setting for our workshop series that explores the body – clothed, nude and everything in between – through collaborative photography.

The body in the Library aims to investigate gender, power and the subtleties of existing depictions and experiences of nudity and we hope to challenge the ways that bodies of all genders are expected to behave and perform. Working in a library gives us the opportunity to explore this in a calm and thought-provoking environment and working in a group allows us to explore these themes in a playful, safe and comfortable way.

Whilst this workshop offers the opportunity for participants to experience and work with the nude in photography it is not a requirement or expectation that people will have to undress to participate. Professional and experienced facilitators will attend to processes of individual and collective permission seeking and giving, in-depth discussion about consent in this context and collaboratively negotiate agreements about ongoing ownership/authorship of images.

The workshop will consist of practical photography exercises, discussions and the optional sharing of work – you are required to bring your own camera equipment.

Whilst people are encouraged to consider their comfort in the creation and composition of the photographs it is a requirement that all participants are prepared to be both behind and in front of the camera.

Workshop #1 those who identify as female

Workshop #2 those who identify as male – date TBC

Workshop #3 all genders – date TBC

Participants will have the option of being a part of an exhibition in the library in 2018

Please contact us if you have any questions

Grace Gelder

gracegelder.co.uk

Grace is a London-based photographer and arts workshop facilitator with a BA in Visual Performance and an MA in Photography. For the last 9 years she has been facilitating photography workshops and receiving private commissions from a range of clients and groups; often collaborating with charities and organisations that support women’s equality and wellbeing. Grace has extensive experience working with the topic of body image and the nude in photography which she uses as a tool to promote a healthy relationship to the body and our image of ourselves. Grace has developed a variety of approaches to the traditional structure of a photo-shoot and continues to research the role of photographer and subject, exploring new understandings of the ethics of image-making. Grace’s clients include Tate, V&A, BBC and Wellcome Collection.

Poh Lin Lee

www.narrativeimaginings.com

Poh Lin is an Australian social worker who has worked from a narrative perspective for the past 12 years. Her work has crossed borders from Mongolia to Benin to Christmas Island to Malaysia to Palestine to Turkey to Ukraine to Belgium to Greece to UK to Germany to Spain and across to Singapore. Poh Lin started out her work responding to families experiencing violence. Continuing the journey in responding to trauma Poh Lin had the opportunity to start working with people affected by state violence, persecution, war and displacement. On Christmas Island, Australia, Poh Lin was responding to newly arrived asylum seekers who had experienced torture and trauma. Learning side by side with people seeking asylum Poh Lin has been actively emphasising the social justice/human rights narratives in responding to multiple, ongoing injustices. Poh Lin is passionate in advocating a move away from individualistic pathologising descriptions and practices in relation to trauma and instead linking individual experience to the wider socio-political context. Alongside therapeutic work and training Poh Lin is involved in documentary film development. Poh Lin currently provides group and individual creative supervision to writers, film makers, photographers, theatre performers and artists.