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The National Trust for Scotland is pleased to invite papers for the Second Morton Photography Symposium, to be held on Thursday 2nd April 2020 at Glasgow Women’s Library:

'Ways of Seeing': Women and Photography in Scotland

The Trust’s major photographic collections feature many women as takers, collectors, preservers or subjects. Prominent examples include the c.6,000 images taken by folklorist Margaret Fay Shaw, the family albums compiled by Violet May Brodie (née Hope) and the hundreds of photographs collected and kept by Glaswegian Miss Agnes Toward, all of which frequently depict women.

These photographs show Scottish women in many lights – artist and model, wife and socialite, mother and sister, amateur and academic. The images of these women breathe life into our places and can help institutions like the Trust improve at putting women of all backgrounds at the centre of the stories we tell about our history.

The aim of this symposium, in collaboration with Glasgow Women's Library, is to explore how photography is used to tell women’s stories. We are particularly interested in how this is done in historic houses and heritage/museum spaces, and intend to challenge the existing display and interpretation practices of these institutions. We are also especially interested in photographs taken by Scottish women or depicting women’s lives in Scotland, as well as photographs where the absence of women can tell stories of their overlooked and marginalised lives.

Proposals are welcomed for papers on any of the above themes, or in response to any of the questions below:

• How has the camera impacted the representation of Scottish women or women in Scotland?
• How has photography by women illuminated the stories of marginalised women?
• What are (especially Scottish) women’s unique ‘ways of seeing’ the world through the camera lens?
• How has the camera been used to objectify women in Scotland, or Scottish women abroad?
• How have women photographers in Scotland, or Scottish women abroad, taken control of their own image?
• How does gendering the ‘woman photographer’ position them as ‘other’?
• Where are the women in our public photographic collections?
• Where are the women of colour in our public photographic collections, and what are the consequences of their absence to our national identity?
• How are photographs being used (or failing to be used) to tell women’s stories in museum and heritage institutions, including historic houses?
• How has photography by Scottish women or women in Scotland been collected or displayed in the past?
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As well as full-length papers, we welcome proposals for the Shutter Speed Session that will take place during the symposium. This will be a quick-fire series of 5-minute talks followed by questions. We intend to publish the proceedings in a special edition of Studies, the journal of the Scottish Society for the History of Photography.

Please send a proposed title and abstract of 200-300 words for a 20-25-minute paper (or 100 words for a 5-6-minute paper for the Shutter Speed Session) to Ben Reiss at breiss@nts.org.uk by Friday 11th October. Please note if you would be happy for your proposal to be considered for either format. Prospective speakers at any stage of their career and from any personal or professional background are encouraged to submit. We particularly welcome submissions from women across race, gender identity, disability, class and sexuality. Travel bursaries may be made available to full-time students, people not in work or those on a low income. Any enquiries about delivering a paper or attending the symposium may also be directed to Ben at the above address, or phone 07864 918969.

Ben Reiss, Morton Photography Project Curator

National Trust for Scotland

breiss@ nts.org.uk | 07864 918969

Contact Email: breiss@nts.org.uk

URL: https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/explore

Historic Photographer of the Year calls on photographers from around the globe to explore and capture the very best historic places and cultural sites that the world has to offer.

Whether it’s a ruined English castle, an underground Roman villa or the haunting beauty of a long-forgotten battlefield, historical sites are among the most picturesque places to photograph on Earth. The 2019 Awards launch for entries on 12th June 2018 and is open to amateur and professional photographers around the world.

The Awards challenge photographers everywhere, amateur or professional, to explore and share the most astonishing imagery of those places which dominate our past. Entries will be judged on originality, composition and technical proficiency alongside the story behind the image and its historical impact. Judging all entries will be a panel of experts including Claudia Kenyatta, Director of Regions for Historic England, broadcaster and historian Dan Snow of History Hit TV, head of the television channel HISTORY™ Dan Korn, author and digital colourist Marina Amaral, Chairman of The Association for Historical and Fine Art Photography Richard Everett, and co-founder of Trip Historic Elli Lewis. The winners will be announced in November 2019.

The Awards are run by Trip Historic, the leading online travel guide to the world’s historic sites. Official partners for 2019 include History Hit TV, a multi-channel history network led by historian and broadcaster Dan Snow – dedicated to bringing you the most extraordinary, dramatic, important and fascinating stories of our shared past; television channel HISTORY™; the Association For Historical And Fine Art Photography; and Historic England, the public body that helps people care for, enjoy and celebrate England’s spectacular historic environment, from beaches to battlefields to parks and pie shops.

The overall winner will see their work showcased on the official competition website and will receive a cash prize of £400, while each category winner will receive their own unique money-can’t buy experience.

For more information and to enter visit www.historicphotographeroftheyear.com

Following strong interest and some excellent applications from archives and other memory institutions over the last three years, the TWA Digitisation Grant has relaunched in 2019. We are very pleased to be increasing the fund this year with the primary winner receiving up to £6,000, the secondary winner up to £3,000 and shortlisted applicants up to £500 of match funding, to support them in digitising their holdings.

The TWA Digitisation Grant opens on 19th June 2019 and welcomes applications from the following UK institutions: 

• Public,      private & charity Archives
• Business/corporate Archives
• Public & private Libraries
• Museums
• Galleries

Last year’s esteemed judging panel will return to assess the applications and select the winners: including ARA chief executive - John Chambers; HLF appointed special advisor - Claire Adler; and senior digitisation consultant at TownsWeb Archiving - Paul Sugden.

The Grant can be used to fund the digitisation of bound books, manuscripts, oversize maps and plans, 35mm slides, microfilm/fiche, glass plate negatives, and other two-dimensional cultural heritage media. 

The deadline for applications is 28th July 2019 with announcements of winners at the ARA Annual Conference in Leeds on 28thAugust 2019.

Find out how to apply and for more details please go to:

https://www.townswebarchiving.com/twa-digitisation-grant/

After providing over £12,000 of support for UK cultural heritage institutions to digitise their holdings in its first two years, the TownsWeb Archiving Digitisation Grant has returned once more in 2018.

The Grant has funding awards of up to £5000 available to help museums, archives, libraries and galleries digitise and open up access to their collections.

Any UK museum is welcome to apply for the funding, simply by completing and submitting the Grant application form. As in previous years, each bid will be scored across three core criteria: heritage need, social and community impact, and research impact.

As in previous years, applications will be assessed by a three-strong judging panel made up of John Chambers, chief executive of the Archives & Records Association; Claire Adler, independent HLF mentor and heritage consultant; and Paul Sugden, lead digitisation consultant at TownsWeb Archiving.

The deadline for TWA Digitisation Grant applications is 12th July 2018. Find out how to apply and read more details at:
https://www.townswebarchiving.com/twa-digitisation-grant