Photo London 2020 will take place from 7th–11th October at Gray’s Inn Gardens, London, with a VIP preview on the evening of 6th October.
Gray’s Inn Gardens is a historical site and one of the largest privately owned gardens in London. The Gardens are located close to Holborn Station and just a short journey from Somerset House and Frieze Art Fair, which will take place that same week in October.
The choice to use Gray’s Inn Gardens was driven by Photo London’s determination to find an equally iconic and well-placed location that would allow staging a large-scale event in a controlled and safe way. The new site will see the Fair located on one level with a single entrance and exit. Thanks to this ghtly monitored access, Photo London will take place safely, in respect of social distancing rules imposed by the government in response to the current global pandemic.
Michael Benson & Fariba Farshad, Founders of Photo London, commented:
“When earlier this year, we took the inevitable decision to reschedule Photo London, we set ourselves the goal of delivering an alternative plan for this year’s Fair no later than mid-May. This has not been an easy task. However, we felt very strongly that we owed it to our exhibitors and the artists who have supported us over the past five years to try to find the best possible solution. So, with cautious optimism, we are delighted to be able to report that the sixth edition of Photo London will now take place between 7-11 October at a new loca on, Gray’s Inn Gardens. As private venue, the Gardens will allow us to achieve a far higher level of social distancing than would normally be possible. We are incredibly grateful to the Mayor of London’s Office and the team at Somerset House who have been instrumental in helping us secure this outstanding new location.”
Photo London remains committed to celebrating the work of this year’s Master of Photography, Shirin Neshat, with a dedicated exhibition that will open during the week of the Fair and will run for three weeks. While the Photo London team looks forward to a safe and strong 2020 edi on in October, it has in the mean me pushed forward the launch of the Photo London Academy, with the support of Arts Council England. This free online resource acts as a virtual gateway into the lives of photographers around the world via different elements:
The Talks Archive, which gives access to the video recordings of the world-class panels and talks held at Photo London over the past ve years, including conversa ons with Sebas ao Salgado, Hannah Starkey, Don McCullin, Liz Johnson Arthur, Stephen Shore, Susan Meiselas, Vera Lu er, Miles Aldridge, Mary McCartney, Erik Madigan Heck and Juergen Teller. New talks are published daily, Monday to Friday.
Photo London’s recently launched digital magazine. Each issue is built in the spirit of an artist’s photo book and spotlights the crea ve processes and artworks of our selected guest contributors. The magazine focuses on personal anecdotes, stories and behind-the-scenes materials, typically those unseen on the main stage of physical art fairs and exhibi ons. Issue 01 focuses on the 2018 Master of Photography, Edward Burtynsky. Following issues will be dedicated to leading UK conceptual photographer Clare Strand, Professor Sarah Kenderdine, a renowned expert in experimental museology, as well as the 2020 Master of Photography, Shirin Neshat.
Photo London 2020 7 -11 October 2020 Gray’s Inn Gardens 8 South Square, Holborn London WC1R 5ET photolondon.org
