Tag: riversidestudios

Photojournalism Hub x Riverside Studios 24th February

IN FOCUS

24th February 2025, 7 pm
Riverside Studios
101 Queen Caroline Street
London W6 9BN

To join: HERE

IN FOCUS brings together two remarkable photographers whose works centre on the themes of community and diaspora, exploring identity, memory, and the cultural landscapes that shape collective experiences.

Myah Asha Jeffers is a Barbadian-British writer, director, photographer and dramaturg. As the previous Literary Associate at the Royal Court Theatre, she was responsible for shaping the works of new and established playwrights. 
Myah’s photographic work has won the Portrait of Britain Prize twice and The Photography Foundation Social Documentary Award. She is the 2024 recipient of the renowned Joan Wakelin Bursary (Royal Photographic Society & The Guardian). 
Her photographs have been featured in publications such as Vogue, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Magazine, ELLE and The Independent amongst others. She has also worked in collaboration with the likes of Tate, Somerset House, ICA, South London Gallery and Whitechapel Gallery.  Myah’s debut short film Bathsheba world premiered at Inside Out (TIFF) and has screened at festivals including New York Shorts, Leeds FF, Norwich FF and Atlanta’s Out on Film, garnering nominations at multiple festivals for Best British Film and Best Director.
Myah’s practice
I am a photographer, writer and director, particularly interested in witnessing and documenting the nuances of daily life within diasporic communities. My practice is conceptually focused on ‘Black Interiority’, where I closely examine themes such as class, cultural identity, queerness, grief, gesture, and truth. Working solely with small & medium format analogue cameras and darkroom-based hand printing processes, the work is particularly concerned with the intersection of “naturalism” and “myth”, through illuminating the magic of rituals, quiet, and connection. With a focus on the (in)tangibility and truth of grief / its relationship with what I call “living abstraction” – where Black folk sculpt or construct versions of themselves as a tool for survival;  I aim to make work that lends itself to abstraction through the experimentation with form, monotone, texture, and structure.
Exclusion Zone.
I’ll be presenting a first preview of my most recent project, Exclusion Zone supported by the Joan Wakelin Bursary and the Visual Studies Workshop Artist Residency. In 1995, a series of seismic Volcanic eruptions rendered two thirds of the island of Montserrat uninhabitable, catalysing a mass exodus. With now only 20% of the island deemed habitable and a current population of just over 4000 people – Montserrat is one of the least populus countries in the world. It also happens to be one of the few remaining British colonies. The uninhabitable 80% of the island is known as the “Exclusion Zone” – a site of buried infrastructure, homes and memories. It is both a graveyard for relics of the past.
This photo series explores the legacy of the natural disaster 30 years on; through the lens of both elders who are nostalgic of what the island was and young people who only know the island for what it is today. 

Paulina Korobkiewicz (b. 1993, Suwałki, Poland) is a London-based photographer and visual artist. Her work explores themes of cultural identity, memory, and the transformation of social spaces. Her projects focus on the visual and cultural landscape of her hometown and region as well as that of her current residence in the UK, documenting everyday scenes and environments with a sense of nostalgia and socio-political commentary, drawing from her own experience of migration. Her practice involves community-based research, conducting workshops, and mentoring. In addition to developing long-form personal projects, Paulina continues to undertake commissions and residencies.
She has participated in several group and solo exhibitions internationally. Her work has been featured in a variety of publications, such as Hapax Magazine, Kajet Journal, Contemporary Lynx, Photomonitor, the BJP, and Creative Review. Paulina is a winner of the Camberwell Book Prize, has been shortlisted and nominated for awards including BarTur Photobook Award, Magnum Graduate Photographers Award and Prix Pictet.

BECOME A PJH MEMBER
Consider becoming a member of the Photojournalism Hub. Your support will enable us to continue our work promoting photographic work that expose, raise awareness of social justice issues. To learn more how to become a member and the benefits of joining, follow the link HERE

Photojournalism Hub x Riverside Studios 03rd June

IN FOCUS
03rd June 2024, 7 pm

Riverside Studios
101 Queen Caroline Street
London W6 9BN
To join: HERE

We are honoured to present renowned and award winning photographers Mariusz Smiejek and Roland Ramanan to the In Focus event on the 3rd of June. Both photographers’ long term work are deeply rooted in the documentary photography tradition presenting social justice issues combined with strong visual narratives.

Mariusz Śmiejek is an independent photographer, visual storyteller, and educator with over 20 years of experience specializing in capturing the raw narratives of human and social conditions. Renowned for documenting a wide range of subjects including post-conflict communities, refugee crises, child slavery, human trafficking, and systemic abuse. Recipient of prestigious awards in international photography competitions, his work has been exhibited globally and featured in renowned publications globally including The New York Times, National Geographic, and the British Journal of Photography, among many others. www.mariuszsmiejek.com

Not Surrendering tells a visual story specifically about the struggle of loyalists to shape a distinct identity in post-conflict Northern Ireland. The documentary narrative introduces us to the daily lives of the local British working-class as well as members of its illegal paramilitary groups. Recognised as terrorist organizations until recently, these associations still carry weight, sow fear, and control Northern Ireland’s Ulster.
By focusing on the spaces which the book’s subjects inhabit, aspects of their daily lives, and the particularities of their neighbourhoods separated by ominous ‘peace walls,’ the photography brings to the fore the psychological state of siege which permeates working-class districts in Northern Ireland. The story also spotlights the atmosphere of despair which accompanies each successive generation – trapped socially and mentally in unprocessed traumas from which it cannot escape.
The aim of the Not Surrendering is to increase awareness and knowledge about processes of reconciliation in post-conflict societies that are divided territorially, politically, nationally, and religiously.
The story this volume highlights the difficulties NGO and other grassroots projects face while working with difficult youth from families deeply involved in the conflict.
The photographic images illustrate the tensions arising during celebrations of national identity, during which especially members of paramilitary groups openly fan the flames of hatred towards their neighbours. This directly affects the indoctrination of the youngest who actively participate in numerous events of this type, leading often to recruitment of young people into paramilitary associations or organised criminal groups.
This has been a personal, individual project from the very beginning to the end (2010-2020); partly supported at the very end stage by Artists Emergency Programme grant from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and The National Lottery.

Roland Ramanan is a London based documentary photographer, born in 1966 with a background in music and education. He developed a passion for photography around 2010, initially through street photography. In 2012 he started a long term documentary project on a vulnerable group of people who gravitate towards a corner of east London called Gillett Square which is to be published by Dewi Lewis as the book “Dominoes”. This work has been featured in Vice magazine among others and has won various awards including being shortlisted for the Royal Photographic Society documentary awards 2023. In 2022 he was one of the finalists in the Portrait of Britain awards. Roland’s current project focuses on the London roller skate scene and its relationship to black culture. https://rolandramanan.com/

Dominoes is a unique and vibrant mosaic of the lives that float in and around a particular corner of Hackney in London’s East End. The book is populated by intimate pictures of people who have experienced addiction and pain as well as the deep joys of the community of which they are a part. Gillett Square was derelict and underdeveloped for years until, in the 1990s it became an experiment in urban regeneration. Like the Dominoes they play in the square, those lives are often precarious. For ten years from 2012 I was privileged to be allowed into the lives and homes of some of those I have met, to photograph their fights and struggles; their families and their lovers. Some of these people are now my friends and some are no longer with us. The participants I am closest to form the heart of the book and I’m sure that bond will continue. The work gives us honest glimpses into lives that we may often turn away from but always with a sense of hope. Dominoes touches on universal themes of love, death, hope and the evolution of urban communities.

BECOME A PJH MEMBER
Consider becoming a member of the Photojournalism Hub and receive the benefits of free access to events, resources, premier editorial content, portfolio reviews, and discounts on entry to our photography exhibitions, training and in our shop, whilst you will be supporting our work advocating, advancing social justice and human rights, amplifying community voices and enhance access to media to those facing social, economic and structural challenges. If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Support the Photojournalism Hub from as little as £1 every month. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you. JOIN US HERE