Grain Photography Hub

21/07/2026

Just under a week left to apply for the East Meets West Masterclass Programme 2026/27.

GRAIN Projects, FORMAT International Photography Festival and QUAD Derby are delighted to announce a new iteration of the East Meets West Masterclass Programme, delivered through a combination of online and in-person sessions.

The programme is for UK-based emerging photographers and offers professional development, inspiration, guidance and support in a collaborative learning environment, allowing participants to develop their practice, networks and new opportunities. Participants will receive guidance and take part in focused discussions that contribute to both their creative practice and career development, with masterclasses led by industry and artform leaders sharing their knowledge and practical advice on developing a successful career.

Masterclass Leaders:

Asha Iman Veal
Ayesha Jones
Arpita Shah
Chris Neophytou
Diane Smyth
Emily Ryalls
Lewis Khan
Zula Rabikowska
GRAIN & FORMAT Team

🗓 Deadline for applications:Monday 27 July, 11:59pm BST.

Find out more and apply - https://grainphotographyhub.co.uk/portfolio-type/east-meets-west/

📸 Image by Dawn Rodgers

PhotographyCommunity

GRAIN Projects (Birmingham), FORMAT, and QUAD (Derby) are delighted to announce a new iteration of the East Meets West Masterclass Programme, delivered through a combination of online and in-person sessions. The masterclass programme is for UK based emerging photographers and offers professional dev...

29/06/2026

Looking to develop your practice and career?

Take part in the upcoming East Meets West Masterclass Programme 2026/27

Learn from industry professionals, including; Arpita Shah, Ayesha Jones, Asha Iman Veal and Chris Neophytou.

The masterclass programme produced by GRAIN Projects (Birmingham), Format Festival and QUAD (Derby) is for UK based emerging photographers and offers professional development, inspiration, guidance and support in a collaborative learning environment to allow participants to develop their practice, networks and new unique opportunities.

This opportunity is aimed at emerging photographers and recent graduates currently based in the UK wishing to broaden their perspectives and push the boundaries of their professional development. We welcome diverse and innovative submissions.

⭐️ Deadline for Applications: Monday 27 July, 11:59pm BST

For full information about the masterclass programme, our masterclass leaders, schedule and details on how to apply - https://grainphotographyhub.co.uk/portfolio-type/east-meets-west/

15/06/2026

We are delighted that Max Ferguson will be speaking as part of Everything in the forest is the forest: Photography, Connection, and Ecology Symposium

Friday 19th June, 9.30am – 5pm
Foyle Studio, MAC, Birmingham
Tickets £25.00 / £20.00 (plus booking fee)
Communal Lunch & Lumen Printing workshop included

Max Ferguson is an artist, photo editor and educator. He is the Founder of Oval Press and Splash & Grab Magazine; the Photography Editor of Granta Magazine; and a Senior Lecturer in photography at the London College of Communication. Alongside Cian Oba-Smith, he co-authored The Portrait Photographer’s Manual (Thames & Hudson). Max is the author of three photo books: Whistling for Owls, Deadfall and Whiplash Memorial (WIP). Recent exhibitions include the 2026 edition of Peckham24 and solo shows of Whiplash Memorial at IC Visual Lab (Bristol) and KOPPEL Collective (London).

Curated by Clare Hewitt and produced with GRAIN Projects, UWE Bristol, and University of Birmingham.

Tickets £25.00 / £20.00 (plus booking fee)
Link to book - https://grainphotographyhub.co.uk/portfolio-type/everything-in-the-forest-is-the-forest/

12/06/2026

Just one week to go until we come together at Midlands Arts Centre - MAC for our symposium, Everything in the forest is the forest: Photography, Connection and Ecology.

Friday 19th June, 9.30am – 5pm,
Foyle Studio, MAC, Birmingham
Tickets £25.00 / £20.00 (plus booking fee)
Communal Lunch & Lumen Printing workshop included

Speakers include:

Allan Brown
Aliki Braine
Clare Hewitt
Hospital Rooms
Marchelle Farrell
Max Ferguson
Tami Aftab & Tony Aftab

The symposium is being shaped around the values of the forest, thinking about how these might be embodied in an event of this nature. We are bringing together different disciplines to exchange knowledge and skills, encourage intergenerational perspectives, share a community meal, and create space for collective discussion and connections.

Curated by Clare Hewitt and produced with GRAIN Projects, UWE Bristol, and University of Birmingham.

The symposium is part of Everything in the forest is the forest premiered as a solo exhibition at Impressions Gallery, Bradford as part of the UK City of Culture programme. It was shown at Peckham 24 (2025), featured in New Scientist (2025) and Photoworks+ (2025), and exhibited at Landskrona Foto Festival, Sweden (2022), before being presented at MAC, Birmingham (2026).

Tickets £25.00 / £20.00 (plus booking fee)
Book - https://www.tickettailor.com/events/grainprojects/2203691

10/06/2026

Visitor of the day: Craig Atkinson from Café Royal Books.

Café Royal Books established in 2005, is a small family-run publisher based in England, focussing on documentary photography linked to Britain and Ireland.
These little books are a fantastic social and historical resource.

“Great to visit and the shows at Street Level are always good!
Thanks.”


Creative Scotland SCAN Grain Photography Hub The Royal Photographic Society Photography Networks Scotland

10/06/2026

East Meets West Masterclass Programme 2026/27 Announcement

GRAIN Projects (Birmingham), FORMAT International Photography Festival and QUAD (Derby) are delighted to announce a new iteration of the East Meets West Masterclass Programme, delivered through a combination of online and in-person sessions.

The masterclass programme is for UK based emerging photographers and offers professional development, inspiration, guidance and support in a collaborative learning environment to allow participants to develop their practice, networks and new unique opportunities.

The programme will offer a platform for photographers to receive guidance and participate in focused discussions that will contribute to their creative practice and career development. Led by industry and artform leaders who will share their knowledge and practical advice on developing a successful career.

This opportunity is aimed at emerging photographers and recent graduates currently based in the UK wishing to broaden their perspectives and push the boundaries of their professional development. We welcome diverse and innovative submissions.

The cost for the Masterclass Programme is £250 and will be payable once accepted onto the programme. We have two bursary places available at £150, for participants who live in either the West or East Midlands.

There will be a production budget provided for participants to work as a collective to create an Exhibition and other potential self-directed joint outcomes of their choosing, such as a newspaper, publication or event to be presented at the FORMAT International Photography Festival, FORMAT27 biennale edition in Derby in March 2027.

⭐️ Deadline for Applications: Monday 27 July, 11:59pm BST

🔗 Visit the link for full information about the masterclass programme, our masterclass leaders, schedule and details on how to apply

https://grainphotographyhub.co.uk/portfolio-type/east-meets-west/

Image by Amy D'Agorne (2024/25 masterclass participant)

08/06/2026

Hear from the brilliant Tami Aftab & Tony Aftab as part of Everything in the forest is the forest: Photography, Connection, and Ecology Symposium

Friday 19th June, 9.30am – 5pm
Foyle Studio, Midlands Arts Centre - MAC
Tickets £25.00 / £20.00 (plus booking fee)
Communal Lunch & Lumen Printing workshop included

Tami Aftab is an English-Pakistani photographer based in London. Her work explores intimacy, family, identity, and play, often approaching sensitive subjects with warmth and lightness. She first developed her practice through personal projects, including a collaboration with her father that examined his short-term memory loss through humor and staged portraiture. Aftab has collaborated with clients including WePresent, Adidas, Apple, Burberry, Net-a-Porter, Stella McCartney, National Theatre, Atmos, and British Vogue. Her work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, the ICA, Peckham24 and The Photographer’s Gallery.

Tony Aftab is the chef behind Serfraz Kitchen, a Pakistani pop-up kitchen in London. Founded in 2017 through a series of takeovers and markets across South London, Serfraz Kitchen has since hosted events at Have A Butchers and at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in collaboration with Bistrotheque for London Fashion Week. The photographic series created by Tony and Tami later became their debut photobook-cookbook, The Rice is on the Hob, photographed in Lahore. The book explores food, heritage, and the connections between memory and family, incorporating recipes from Tony’s childhood and staples from his pop-ops.

Curated by Clare Hewitt and produced with GRAIN Projects, UWE Bristol, and University of Birmingham.

Tickets £25.00 / £20.00 (plus booking fee) - https://www.tickettailor.com/events/grainprojects/2203691

03/06/2026