Brigstow is delighted to announce that our collaboration with the Bristol Photo Festival has awarded funding to two exciting projects that use photography as a research tool: “We Are Still Here: Stories from the HIV and AIDS Community” and “Bringing the War Home II”.
Brigstow Institute and the Bristol Photo Festival have collaborated on a joint commission to fund two interdisciplinary research projects that seek to use photography as a research method. “We Are Still Here: Stories from the HIV and AIDS Community” and “Bringing the War Home II” are two projects that seek to use this creative research methodology meaningfully as a sensitive form of exploration into what it means to live well in the 21st century.
“As with other Brigstow projects, these are a chance for people who have not previously worked together before to bring their diverse expertise to play in a new research partnership” Professor Tim Cole, Director of Brigstow Institute
“We Are Still Here: Stories from the HIV and AIDS Community” seeks to explore how visual representations of living spaces offer an insight into the lived experiences and mental wellbeing of people in the HIV/AIDS community in the UK. This project is a collaboration between Dr. Adrian Flint (University of Bristol, SPAIS), Mareike Günsche (Photographer at Aspectus and State University of Arts in Ulan Bator, Mongolia) and Martin Burns (Writer, HIV/AIDS activist and equality advocate).
“Bringing the War Home II” will seek to expand current understandings of war, and what makes war possible through the lens of the home. Bringing the War Home II involves, Dr. Elspeth Van Veeren (University of Bristol, SPAIS), Dr. Miriam Snellgrove (Stirling University), Edmund Clark (Photographer, University of Arts London) and Olu Osinoiki (Photographer at Olumedia).
Both of these funded projects feed into the Bristol Photo Festival’s theme of “The Living Room Archive” and demonstrate the breadth of meanings given to the places we call ‘home’ and the diverse research questions that can be explored through the living spaces.
“These two commissions are very much in line with our festival ethos: developing multidisciplinary collaborations, encouraging long term engagement, and tackling relevant socio-political issues. We are very excited to see these research projects develop and their final display as part of the first edition of the festival” Alejandro Acin, Bristol Photo Festival
The final exhibitions for both research projects will take place as part of the Bristol Photo Festival in 2021.
