21/07/2022

Thursday 21^st July 2022

National Justice Museum announces judges for Freedom photography competition

Renowned photographer Brian Griffin leads the panel to choose a new residency for the National Justice Museum

© 2021 SIMON HYDE | www.simonhyde.co.uk

World-renowned photographer, writer and director Brian Griffin leads a panel of judges for the National Justice Museum’s open-call photography exhibition on the theme of Freedom. Griffin, along with fellow judges Amanda Sinclair and Ofilaye, will choose from hundreds of applicants to award a creative residency at the National Justice Museum in 2023 with a £1,000 budget for the lucky winner.

The celebrated photographer Brian Griffin has enjoyed an illustrious career, creating some of the most iconic images in music. Throughout the 1980’s he photographed artists including Brian May, Ringo Star, Siouxsie Sioux and Peter Gabriel and created album covers for Elvis Costello, Ultravox and Billy Idol to name but a few, before going on to direct music videos for Iggy Pop and Depeche Mode.

In 1989 Griffin was named ‘Photographer of the Decade’ by the Guardian, one of the many prestigious accolades he has received, culminating in his induction into the Album Cover Hall of Fame in 2016 for his work with R.E.M., Kate Bush, The Psychedelic Furs, Echo & The Bunnymen, Joe Jackson and many others.

He brings with him a wealth of experience and a body of work that resides in the permanent collections of the V&A, The National Portrait Gallery, and the Arts Council.

Amanda Sinclair is a Nottingham-based artist whose work is inspired by surrealism and neo-expressionism. Her observations of human psychosis and lived experience of trauma, enable a healing process when recreating a shared human experience. Sinclair came to photography as a mature student, earning a BA Hons degree in Photography. As a passionate advocate of healing and education within nature, Sinclair’s photography practice is centred in ornithology and the natural world. Her ethos lies firmly in the engagement of arts as a tool for social transformation and the practice of providing equal access to those who may be excluded or marginalised.

Ofilaye is a photographer and filmmaker. Their work deals with themes of cultural identity, belonging, and space/place. They have collaborated with brands and organisations including Hypebae Magazine, Hoezine, Cambridge School of Visual Arts and Performance, Derby Museum and Art College, Déda, and Anisha Parmar London. Projects include Atlas – Déda 20 Years; For The Rest of Our Lives; Burning Hour with Matt Pearson Hair; Black Newstead: Black pugilists of Newstead; Anisha Parmar; and Torn and Frayed with Matt Pearson Hair. In 2022, Ofilaye gave a talk at Derby’s Joseph Wright College entitled “Developing your voice as an artist”.

The open call for black and white photography is open to all, from professionals to amateurs, around the theme of ‘Freedom’. The submissions will be displayed in an exhibition at the National Justice Museum from November 2022, curated to explore the notion of freedom from multiple perspectives. The open call is free to enter, and entries close on 31 July 2022. All entries will be presented in the exhibition, regardless of experience or equipment – whether you have an up-to-the-minute digital SLR camera or are taking photographs on your smartphone.

There are three amazing prizes available, from a People’s Choice Award, a photograph added to the Museum’s permanent collection, and a creative residency at the National Justice Museum in 2023 with £1,000 budget for the photographer.

Andrea Hadley-Johnson, Artistic Programme Manager at the National Justice Museum, said ‘We’re hugely grateful to welcome these three brilliant photographers, joining us as judges in the very first open call exhibition in the history of the museum. We work openly, creatively, and kindly to involve and represent people in the artistic programme and have pledged to present every single photograph entered. The exhibition will show a nuanced range of ‘Freedom’ perspectives and our judges will enable one photographer the opportunity to explore their practice further in our exhibition spaces.’