Sarah in front of Henry Iddon’s pictures of her and her mother, Women in the City, LOOK/15 provided by Caroline Ross, 2015

DID YOU SEE LOOK/15?

REVIEW

Would you like to be part of the LOOK success story? Promote your venue, product or organisation to our loyal, educated and professional audiences.

We have a host of opportunities, including brochure and website advertising, marketing packages and event sponsorship.

Please contact Emma Smith on 0151 291 6739 or email emma@lookphotofestival.com to find out more.

LOOK OPPORTUNITIES

LOOK15: Exchange developed from a strong vision, supported by rich partnerships and positive discussion. We aimed to create the largest, most accessible festival we’d ever created, generating a critical mass of photographic debate, exhibits and connections, showing historic and contemporary photography. We’re pleased to report that we succeeded. We know this because our audiences deemed it ‘dynamic, friendly and aspirational’; our volunteers called it ‘diverse, dynamic and interesting’ and our artists have described it as ‘diverse, inclusive and exciting’.

This happened because LOOK made a decision to try to act with generosity at all times. This meant working hard to see ideas through, take risks and chase opportunities. It meant supporting creative thinking, sharing views, making introductions, creating exchanges and pushing skills to their limits. This created ‘learn by doing’ opportunities and generated a bespoke blend of events and exhibitions, which we shared with audiences. We placed these in a mix of high end galleries, public realm spaces and community level venues, to encourage new audiences and guide them to new locations. Doing so added variety and depth to the festival and its atmosphere. Including in-conversation events, workshop days, practical sessions, essays and blogs we were able to engage deeply with professional audiences. Our open call for Women in the City engaged high numbers of people, ranging from young, amateur snappers to seasoned photographic professionals. It developed considerable local interest and brought people into the act of making and enjoying photography. Exposing the shared themes between exhibitions and developing rich trails to follow encouraged visitors to spend an average of 3.5 days each engaging with photographic work.

All this allowed LOOK to work with more artists and more partners and develop more connections than ever before. This proactive working method has led 100% of our artists and collaborators to want to work with us again and to them stating that LOOK is an important cultural contributor to the city and its festival programme. Additionally, over 90% believe we add value to the UK and global photographic offer, demonstrating that LOOK adds considerable value to Liverpool’s international position and its ‘cultural excellence’ offer.

LOOK’s willingness to test ideas and work collaboratively means we almost doubled our original ambition of developing 30+ events; we developed tens of commissions (from essays, new works and publications); worked directly with 73 artists (15 local, 25 national and 33 international) and showed work from a further 636. We hosted an artist-in-residence; smashed the number of exhibition days predicted, generating 5 years of exhibition days and achieved many more goals besides!

We maintain that LOOK’s festival delivers something unique to its field. That is partly because it is of and for Liverpool, but also because, as a festival, it addresses international work as a point of connection, rather than as a kite mark of success. It engages audiences in the artistry of photography without being elitist, although including elite work. It invites the audience to join in as makers and co-creators, whatever their professional standing and it develops friendships – artistically, professionally and

personally – in a way that people experience very deeply. For these reasons, LOOK is a compelling festival of note that has a bright future in engaging new audiences, developing rich connections and providing meaningful, long-lasting experiences that people can take with them, around the world.

The tremendous feedback we received from audiences, artists and stakeholders confirms that we are on the right path. The contents of this Board commissioned report demonstrates our success and shares our aspirations for the future. It shows that we have great ambition and are keen to find others who share our interests, support our work and would willingly collaborate to share great photographic art and opportunities with audiences.

We’d like to thank our artists, partners, sponsors, collaborators, volunteers, venues, friends and every visitor and audience member for helping to make LOOK/15: Exchange the success it was. Thank you! Please, join us again for LOOK/17.

Emma Smith, Executive DirectorLOOK, Liverpool International Photography Festival

Emma would also like to thankLOOK’s Board of DirectorsAdam Lee, ChairTony CearnsTadhg DevlinLawrence GilesColin HughesAngela SamataAnna Taylor

With additional thanks to recently retired Directors John Sutcliffe, Lorenzo Fusi and Paul Herrmann and LOOK/15’s Festival Coordinator, Anna Plant

LOOK/15 IN WORDS

Women in the City opening, 2015 © Anna Plant

LOOK/15 review | 3

© Viktorija Grigorjevaite, Sane Seven, 2015

Sheila Rock (Hawaii USA), artist, 18 June 2015 Energetic & thoughtful mix of work & talents. I found the whole experience uplifting & a positive affirmation of the Arts & photography in the UK. London is very egocentric and self-congratulatory. I had not experienced anything outside of its radius except in Europe & America. Liverpool was impressive and fun. LOOK was vibrant & a well-conceived festival.

Ignacio Acosta (Chile & UK), LOOK/15 Artist-in-Residence, 18 June 2015LOOK provided a great platform to develop a new body of research and opened a window to reach new audiences.

Dr Casey Orr (Delaware USA & UK), artist, 15 June 2015 I would love to work with LOOK further. My late entry into the festival was accommodated really well. Taking Saturday Girl to Liverpool has enabled me to expand the scope of the project into something that is far more interesting and powerful. My work has moved further into the debates of contemporary photography through its inclusion in the festival and I think this will continue to create opportunities for me.

David Lockwood (UK), partner from Hugh Baird, 12 June 2015 LOOK/15 was a fantastic opportunity for our College and students to exhibit in an international festival and get exposure for their work. Our students really appreciated the experience and the work that the LOOK team put in to the organising of our event was great and the event very successful. We would welcome and embrace the opportunity to be part of the festival again in the future.

Jona Frank (California USA), LOOK/15 artist, email, 4 June 2015 I had a great time being a part of LOOK and I want to thank you for the opportunity. The biggest thing for me was to see how all of these ideas I have been working with played out […] I really enjoyed the other photographers I met and hearing about their process. WE accomplished A LOT! […] I truly felt like LOOK opened people and made them observe and think about their world differently. Bravo!

Tabitha Jussa (UK), artist, 12 June 2015There was a really great atmosphere created during LOOK/15 which I feel was down to the staffing of the festival. There was no pretence, but very successfully delivered to a high professional standard. The breadth of the programming was great, with the strong emphasis of inclusion coming across very well. The theme and emphasis on females in photography was interesting. For me as a female photographer it did highlight the fact that so few established photographers are female. This still needs to be addressed across the whole photography industry. It is a tough area anyway which is not helped by being female.

James Lawler (UK), Duovision collaborator, 12 June 2015We were extremely pleased to be part of LOOK/15 the experience was made easy by the friendly and professional coordination. We received great reviews, press and feedback from visitors to our exhibitions and events and this would not have been possible without the support of LOOK/15. We would definitely like to continue a relationship with the festival, as would the exhibitors we worked with. A very impressive festival.

LOOK COMMENTS

4 | LOOK/15 review Workman at Warp, LOOK © Anna Plant

Workman (name unknown), recorded at WarpLiverpool, 16 May 2017 “How much creativity is in this room?”

Sharon Baddeley, visitor, in an email, 17 Jun 2015 I really enjoyed the festival (I went on 3 days) and we are so lucky to have it here on our doorsteps. Thanks very much

Lisa Phillips, Hugh Baird student and LOOK/15 artist I am part of the show and I am from Hugh Baird College. To be part of the show has been a huge privilege. It has shown me how amazing it is to be part of an exhibition

Rene Lumley, arts educatorLisa Phillips! I LOVE your work. So beautiful and sensitive. You are a really talented photographer. Please follow us [on] twitter @arts_minds. I have taught photography for over 15 years, and I think you are one of the best undergraduate’s I have seen. Well done, you should be proud. Funders – keep on funding

C.Evans, Liverpool What an excellent, creative, exciting, stimulating display. Really glad we caught it

Karen Falconer, Journalist, Radar, the Independent, 30 May 2015There is much to see, too much for anyone who doesn’t have days to spare. And plenty of value – some purely on photographic merit; others for their concern with the city’s history and evolving future

Miranda Gavin, Journalist, Culture 24, 22 May 2015 It is a photo festival of connections and dialogues, both locally and internationally. And while some associations appear tentative, others are more obvious. However, with limited time to cover an entire festival, this review can only hope to offer a snapshot

Alex Taylor, Journalist, Huck, 30 June 2015 The LOOK/15 festival is a really interesting chance to see what a lot of photographers are doing right now. Whether you’re more interested in the work being done to document the city’s youths or want to look further afield, the festival has something that’ll fascinate any visitor.

Heather Garner, artist and writer, the Double Negative, 7 May 2015So, what can we expect from this year’s LOOK/15? To put it simply, photography at its most culturally relevant and egalitarian. This year’s festival continues its forge forward into new territories by reaching out in search of photographic talent from beyond the local sphere, whilst remaining thoroughly embedded in Liverpool’s own unique cultural identity.

Colin McPherson @germanocean, May 18

Another tremendous day @LookPhotoFest talking projects with @Redeye @louisquail the saintly @caravangallery & others #look158 retweets 6 favorites The Caravan Gallery and 1 other retweeted

Pete Carr @petecarr, May 18

I had a really great day listening to photographers at the @RedeyeNetwork @LookPhotoFest talk. Loved @caravangallery :) #look153 retweets 4 favorites Othello De’Souza and 1 other favorited

Sam Bytheway Carr @sambtwcarr, May 16

Saw some great #look15 exhibitions today followed by an interesting talk by @othellodesouza and Tricia Porter. Inspiring stuff

LOOK/15 review | 5

Twelfth Lady Mayor, Councillor Erica Kemp, with Hugh Baird student and Exchange artist, Hayley Flanagan, in front of her Women in the City entry Once Upon a time in a Garage, 2015

551,983 people shared in LOOK/15’s ideas by visiting galleries, community venues and public realm spaces

5 years worth of exhibitions days were run in conjunction with LOOK/15 - a total of 1829 days!

27 blogs were written specifically for LOOK/15 from artists, visitors, thought-leaders and volunteers

73 artists were showcased and developed with LOOK to generate the festival and we showed the work of 636 more!

Public £££s - LOOK/15 was awarded a total of £80,800 of public money, which means each visit cost just £0.15

51+ days of participation took place across the festival as people enjoyed camera workshops, portfolio reviews, talk and tours, engaging 4,600+ people

60 events were developed by LOOK/15 including film screenings, workshops and practical sessions

39 venues collaborated to deliver LOOK’s events, in partnership with dozens of people and organisations

36 exhibitions meant there was something for everyone, including elite ‘stardust’ shows, public works and emerging talent!

LOOK/15IN NUMBERS

6 | LOOK/15 review

LOOK/15 review | 7

Support photographic artists and audiences by offering strong and diverse platforms, commissioning and opportunities

Having reviewed our work, measured the success of LOOK/15 and evaluated the feedback, LOOK have determined that these are the six things we want to focus on improving

Create a strong social space at the centre of the festival to promote collaborations, discourse and friendships

5H rating for exhibitions 80%

5H rating for events 75%

5H to “I will recommend the festival” 75%

Export LOOK nationally and internationally to improve our reputation as experts and thought-leaders and to develop professional connections

Develop photographic education links to gain access to future generations of photographers and pursue academic research and scheduling opportunities

Focus on securing industry and media support, using strong curatorial leadership that develops the festival’s core messages and drives city partnerships

Improve LOOK’s digital offer, including web content and functionality, user generated content and social platforms/outputs

LOOK/17’sPRIORITIES

5H RATING GOALS

8 | LOOK/15 review

LOOK/15: Exchange was brought to you with support from: LOOK would like to thank Diane Brown, BFG Associates, and Paul Mathews, P M Associates and Business in the Arts: North West for assistance provided through the Mentoring programme www.businessinthearts.co.uk

Front cover image:Sarah in front of Henry Iddon’s pictures of her and her mother, Women in the City, LOOK/15 provided by Caroline Ross, 2015

This photograph was submitted to LOOK by Caroline Ross during the festival. Caroline is the mother of Sarah (pictured pointing). Both feature in the image that Sarah is pointing to, which was taken by Sarah’s father, Henry Iddon, in an image entitled Woman in labour, Liverpool Women’s Hospital 2004. The original image was submitted to LOOK’s Women in the City competition, which called for people to submit images of women, to complement the One Magnificent City and Three Queens celebrations. This interaction between artists, audiences and time is reflective of a number of stories, which show the meta-layering that occurred between the themes and exhibitions of LOOK/15.

LOOKCompany number 05812912LOOK is a company limited by guarantee in England and Waleslookphotofest.comlookphotofestivalblog.wordpress.com

@LookPhotoFest

/Look-Liverpool-International-Photography-Festival

+44 (0) 151 291 6739

to whom the team and Board are most grateful.

Thank you each of them and thank you to all our partners, artists, collaborators, volunteers, friends and the City, without whom LOOK would be lost.

Design: nonconform.co.uk

THANKS