Image featuring in the Festival of Journalism and Art ’Very Now’ exhibition. Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin — Afterlife (2009).
With art and journalism converging as never before, London College of Communication presents the Festival of Journalism and Art.
Based at the College, where journalism and traditionally “creative” subjects are taught side by side, the festival runs from 11-14 July and is free and open to all. An exhibition, Very Now, remains open until 12 August.
The festival line-up includes free talks from #wearehere artist Jeremy Deller and music journalist Paul Morley, alongside the Very Now exhibition and event with independent magazines, Weapons of Reason, Pylot and Accent.
As 21st century journalists seek ways to explain increasingly abstract, complex or hidden issues, so artists seek greater relevancy in their work.
This festival looks at artists who incorporate aspects of journalism in their work and considers what journalists can learn from artists and their practice.
Festival Programme
Faces of a Revolution #7: Safeya’s Tears by Laura El-Tantawy. Safeya Sayed Shedeed, the mother of a protester who died after being shot by police officers on January 28, 2011 cries as she waits to hear the result of a sentencing trial for former president Hosni Mubarak.
Very Now exhibition
Private View: Tue 12 July, 6-9pm
Exhibition open: Mon 11 July – Fri 12 AugMon – Fri 10am-6pm
Sat 11am-4pm, closed Sun
At the centre of the festival is the Very Now exhibition, featuring work by UAL students alongside artists including Jeremy Deller, David Birkin, Laura El-Tantawy, Peter Kennard and Cat Phillipps, Broomberg and Chanarin, Edmund Clark and Lewis Bush.
Their work engages with subjects that may elude traditional forms of visibility, from surveillance and contemporary warfare, to migration and revolution, fusing journalistic and artistic techniques to tell stories in ways which would not otherwise have been possible.
Battle of Orgreave (004), Jeremy Deller, 2001. An Artangel commission. Production photograph by Martin Jenkinson.
Jeremy Deller in Conversation
Mon 11 July, 2.30-3.30pm
Lecture Theatre C
Jeremy Deller, Turner Prize-winning artist, talks bout his work to Simon Hinde, LCC Programme Director for Journalism and Publishing. Deller’s work, The Battle of Orgreave, can be seen in the Very Now exhibition.
Panel Discussion
Tues 12 July, 4-6pm
Lecture Theatre A
Our panel of experts discuss whether there is an aesthetic tradition of journalism, and if contemporary art is just another form of communication. Confirmed speakers include:
- Alfredo Cramerotti, artist, curator and author of Aesthetic Journalism: How to Inform without Informing
- Laura El-Tantawy, photographer and journalist, shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize 2016
- Peter Kennard and Cat Phillipps, acclaimed artistic duo KennardPhillips
- Crofton Black, journalist and counterterrorist investigator and co-author of Negative Publicity: Artefacts of Extraordinary Rendition
Independent Magazines and Art
Wed 13 July, 5-6pm
Lecture Theatre C
Convened by Stack, editors from leading independent magazines Weapons of Reason, Pylot and Accent discuss how they use photography, illustration and other art forms to tell journalistic stories.
Chaired by Anne Coddington, course leader for BA (Hons) Magazine Journalism and Publishing.
Paul Morley in Conversation
Wed 13 July, 6.30-7.30pm
Lecture Theatre C
Journalist Paul Morley discusses the relationship between art and journalism, in conversation with Simon Hinde, Programme Director for Journalism and Publishing at LCC.
Paul began his career on the NME and has since written for a wide range of publications. He is the author of several books, including Words and Music: A History of Pop in the Shape of a City; Nothing; The North: (And Almost Everything In It).
He was part of the curation team of the David Bowie Is…. retrospective at the V&A and his book on Bowie is published in July 2016.
Fanzine Workshop
Thurs 14 July, 11am-3pm
A workshop for young people, particularly school and college groups, to make an A5 sized fanzine about the Very Now exhibition.
Using creativity and collaboration to make DIY magazines, participants will work as journalists, photographers, editors and production designers and see the process from content creation through to production and print.
——————————–
All events are free.
Booking is essential for talks, workshops and panel discussions