The UK’s biggest outdoor photography festival launched in Preston this June displaying major projects from several internationally-acclaimed photographers.
The work of Martin Parr, Jenny Lewis, Maryam Wahid, Ian Beesley, Dougie Wallace, Serena Dzenis, Bobby Beasley, Tim Hetherington and Sarah Maple is displayed in parks and on walls across the city.
Many more photographers have large-scale single images on display, while an extensive engagement program see multiple opportunities for local people to take part in the festival, either by taking photographs or by being photographed.
These engagement projects include the famous Clarks shoes Preston is My Paris advert-inspired portrait session and 48hrs in Preston where photographers have been invited to photograph the city and help create a unique archive of the people who live in Preston.
Thousands of school children across Lancashire will experience the festival via their own private exhibitions on school premises which will be sent to them in the post.
Other events and opportunities during the festival include photo workshops, photo talks, projections, live-stream photo walk, a community photo wall, pop-up portrait sessions, photography performances and a world-first photographic parade.
The lead photographers taking part in Lancashire Photography Festival is led by Martin Parr, the UK’s leading documentary photographer who is known around the world for his bold, satirical images documenting human life.
Social-documentary photographer Jenny Lewis exhibits images from her stunning One Day Young projects, where new mothers were photographed within 24 hours of giving birth, in Miller Park.
Yorkshire-based Ian Beesley shows a selection of his stunning black and white Northern industrial images in Preston’s stunning Georgian-era Winckley Square.
Street photographer Dougie Wallace, whose critically-acclaimed books include Stags Hens & Bunnies: a Blackpool Story and Harrodsburg (both published by Dewi Lewis), exhibits his stunning brash people-focused images in Avenham Park.
Maryam Wahid’s work focuses on the identity of British Pakistani Muslim woman and exhibits images from her stunning The Hijab project.
Serena Dzenis surreal Icelandic landscapes, taken during lockdown in 2021, have already won several awards. The breathtaking images are displayed in the city’s Avenham Park.
As part of several festival legacy projects, photographer Andy Ford will spend this summer photographing Lancashire agricultural shows. This will work will be shown during the festival via projector and will be exhibited during the next festival in 2024.
The festival is funded by Arts Council England, with support from Friends of Winckley Square CIC.
Find out more about what's going on at the festival here.
Photo credit: Martin Parr