This year the University of West London (UWL) has become a partner organisation in UrbanPhotoFest in which London School of Film, Media and Design’s BA Photography and BA Commercial Photography staff and students played a key role. This is the 10^th anniversary of Urban Encounters.

Urban Encounters (the main event for UrbanPhotoFest) took place at Tate Britain last Saturday. Peter Bennett chaired a panel on Optical Transformations: Between the Analogue and the Digital and Professor Michelle Henning gave a paper. Professor Garin Dowd also spoke on a panel discussing Cartographies of Time.

Alongside this, The Photographers’ Gallery hosted a symposium on Monday 13th November on Urban Photography: Making, Researching, Teaching. Peter Bennett and Dr Theresa Mikuriya, both Course Leaders in Photography, took part, sharing their own teaching insights and experiences with the audience. The event was organised by Paul Halliday and Theresa Mikuriya.

Paul Halliday, Creative Director of UrbanPhotoFest, said, ‘It’s great that the University has become a partner in UrbanPhotoFest this year. They have been playing an active role in the organisation and delivery of the events, while their research into the aesthetics of analogue and digital mapping of urban space is contributing a fascinating new aspect to the festival.’

UWL Photography student James O’Rourke also took part with a talk at the UPF Intercollegiate Brunch at APT Gallery in Deptford on last Friday. He said, ‘I was delighted to be given the opportunity to talk about my work at the APT Gallery at UrbanPhotoFest. This provided me with valuable experience in the art of public speaking and enabled me to gain exposure for my work in a professional context.’

Additionally, alumni Daniel Silas will be exhibiting at the Cartographies of Inclusion exhibition at the Greenwich Gallery. Many other Photography students have also gained practical knowledge as volunteers helping to support the festival.