Some Final Words...

Well, we've had an incredible two days and I'd just like to thank everybody who took part. A particular thank you to every delegate who attended - we could not have had a conference without you!! Thank you to Rob, Karen and Nigel for all the hard work they have put into making the last two days a great success, and to Debbie, Stephen, Jason, Natalie and Hayley, who helped everything to run so smoothly. Finally, thank you to the speakers and keynotes, whose talks and presentations provided a fascinating insight on many different aspects of seaside photography and were certainly thought-provoking.

The hard work and manic preparations paid off and we can now look back on the past couple of days with a sense of pride in the achievements of the archive that holds the history of our Isle of Thanet depicted in its photographs.

Although the conference is now over, the exhibition Beyond the View: Reframing the Sunbeam Photographic Collection will continue to run until 23rd August at the Sidney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury - please spread the word!

Pep talk before second day of conference.

Waiting for delegates to arrive.

The view from the conference room at the Turner
Contemporary.

Day One of Two...

So the first day of the conference is over and I am proud to say it has been an extremely successful day - all the speakers and keynotes were wonderful and the day ran smoothly without any hitches. If you attended the Private View for the exhibition this evening, I hope you took full advantage of the wine and food and had a wonderful evening after the busy day we have had!

We can now have a well-deserved rest until tomorrow morning when we begin our second day at the Turner Contemporary in Margate for what promises to be another exciting day in a beautiful location - what better place to discuss seaside photography than right by the sea itself?

We look forward to seeing you there at 10am - if you are travelling using the coach provided, it leaves at 9am from North Lane Car Park and departs from the Turner Contemporary at 2pm to return to Canterbury - full details (including a map) are in your conference bags.

Looking forward to another exciting day tomorrow with Martin Parr as our keynote speaker!

Ready, Set, Go!

The conference and exhibition are upon us!! Registration opens at 9am tomorrow at the Sidney Cooper Gallery in Canterbury, I will be in the reception with Debbie Booth to welcome you in - look out for anyone with a blue sticker on their name badge - we're your first port of call for any questions or queries you might have throughout the two days - please don't hesitate to ask!

Below is a map detailing the location of the Sidney Cooper Gallery, which is located a very short walk away from Canterbury West train station.

A copy of the conference programme will be included in the conference packs which every delegate will receive, but is also available online via this link:

http://beyondtheview.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/SEAS-Conference-PROGRAMME-JULY-3rd.pdf 

See you tomorrow!

Sneak Previews!

As promised, some sneak previews of the exhibition as it is hung at the Sidney Cooper Gallery in Canterbury - a very exciting but manic time for all involved as everything begins to take shape...

Meanwhile the conference packs which each delegate will receive are now assembled and ready - previews of these below too!

One of the many conference packs
 now assembled and ready to go.

One Week To Go!!

We now have exactly one week to go until the Beyond the View Conference and Exhibition Private View! We hope you're as full of anticipation as we all are - it promises to be two very busy days, boasting keynote speakers Martin Parr (Magnum Photographer), Brigitte Lardinois (Deputy Director of the Photography and the Archive Research Centre at the University of the Arts in London) and Audrey Linkman (author of The Victorians Photographic Portraits and the recently highly acclaimed Photography and Death) to name a few, as well as the conference responder Professor Val Williams (Director of the Photography and the Archive Research Centre at the University of the Arts in London).

If you have not already received a copy, the schedule for the two days is available via this link: http://beyondtheview.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/SEAS-Conference-Schedule.pdf

Next week we are at the Sidney Cooper Gallery in Canterbury, as we begin to set up and prepare for delegates' arrivals on Thursday - I hope to be able to post a few sneak preview photos of the exhibition being hung and preparations for the conference as they happen, so do check back!

Not Long to Go Now...

The conference and exhibition are now fast-approaching - just under two weeks to go!! This week we have begun entering the final stages of preparations. The slideshow of SEAS archive images that I was working on last week has been tweaked to a very-nearly-complete stage, and we finalised the design for the bags for the conference packs that each delegate will receive, which have now been ordered!

We also met with the volunteers who will be working alongside us over the two days of the conference and the exhibition Private View to discuss roles and responsibilities and to have an initial run-through of the schedule.

Hayley Brown and myself will be initially stationed at the registration desk, to welcome each of you into the conference, make sure you each receive a conference pack and answer any questions you might have about the two days. If you have any questions or problems - we are your first port of call, so don't hesitate to ask!

Jason Pay and Steven Dyer are our roving photographers - they will be documenting the whole experience so we have a wonderfully comprehensive record of the two days, and of course they will also be on hand to answer any questions you might have.

 Last but not least is Natalie Granger, our exceptionally calm I.T. technician. For speakers and keynotes, Natalie is the person you'll want to see - she's in charge of making sure the vital presentation is where you need it when you need it - any technical problems and Natalie will be there to help.

Over the course of the two days you will get to know our faces and names - we're your first port of call for any questions, so make good use of us!!

Update on Preparations

I have been taking a break from framing this week, and instead have been working on creating a digital rotation of images from the archive in the form of a slideshow, which may be shown alongside the prints in the Beyond the View - Reframing the Sunbeam Photographic Collection exhibition.

In an attempt to identify categories and groupings within the images in the archive, my area of research has been focusing on "the worker", examining images that depict both the male and the female worker, and the (often stereotypical) differences between their work for the particular time-period. Many of the images also include glimpses into their working environment and aspects of daily-life.

I have been scouring the archive for these images and have found a surprising number - so many I have had to be quite selective about which I choose to include!

One of my favourite selected images depicting a
friendly-looking postman.

The conference and exhibition are now fast-approaching, so if you would like to become a delegate and have not already done so, book your place using the link below:

http://shop.canterbury.ac.uk/browse/extra_info.asp?compid=1&modid=1&deptid=37&catid=172&prodvarid=250