I spent yesterday morning with TimE mounting the 2026 exhibition of work by the Photo Forum (a post on this to follow). We got to talking about the programme for next year: we want to give the Photo Forum a rest, but would like photography to continue to have a presence at the U3A. I mentioned that 2024-2027 is being treated as the 200th anniversary of the birth of photography. The Maison Nicephore Niepce web site says:
‘The year 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the invention of photography by Nicéphore Niépce. The debate about the exact date of the bicentennial hinges on the distinction between the earliest photographic experiments and the preservation of a tangible object. Although the View from the Window at Le Gras from 1827 [sometimes given as 1826-27] is often presented as the first photograph, documented evidence shows that Niépce’s first successes date back to 1824.’ (https://bicentennial-of-photography.org/bicentennial-of-photography-1824-2024/)
I suggested a short five-week course in autumn 2026 to celebrate this. It might be called ‘Pioneers of Photography’, cover the period 1824-1900, and include: technical development; photography as art; women in photography; campaigning photography; and travel/explorer photographers. I shall prepare a draft proposal.