| Code | DS/UK/471 |
| Person Name | Read; Shirley (Fl.1970s-present) |
| Dates | Fl.1970s-present |
| Dates and Places | Born in Bedford
Studied at School of Slavonic & East European Studies, London University BA (hons) History; London College of Communications, UAL, MA Phoography: History & Culture
Worked at Space Studios: Acme Gallery: HalfMoon/Camerawork: GLC & South Bank Board; Womens Artists Slide Library; Horizon Gallery; Island History Trust; Signals, Cultural Partnerships; Festival of Women Photographers; Tom Blau Gallery; City Lit; Three Shadows Photography Centre Beijing; NLS British Library:
She was a Research Fellow in the Photography and Archive Research Centre at the London College of Communication 2006 -2008 |
| History | In 1974 Shirley Read became involved in Half Moon Gallery (later Camerawork) on a voluntary basis (She was the only woman signatory to the Articles of Association when the gallery became a limited company)
She then worked as administrator, magazine co-ordinator and, finally, exhibitions organiser, for Camerawork, until she left in 1984.
She was employed by the London College of Communication as a Research Fellow in the Photography and Archive Research Centre (PARC) 2006 -2008.
In 2006, she was responsible for bringing material on Cockpit and Camerawork into PARC from Four Corner Films.
In 2008 her book, 'Exhibiting Photography' was published by Elsevier.
She has contributed extensively as an interviewer to the Oral History of British Photography archive, held at the British Library 1994 to the present. Including interviews with Armet Francis, Wolfgang Tillmans, Rosy Martin, David King. |
| Activity | Cockpit Arts Administrator, Magazine Co-Ordinator, Exhibition Organiser, Cockpit Arts and Gallery, 1974-1984
Research Fellow in the Photography and Archive Research Centre at the London College of Communication 2006 -2008
Interviewer, Oral History of British Photography, British Library, 1994-present |
| Published Works | Has written for various journals including Artists Newsletter; MAKE; Creative Camera; Portfolio.
Read, Exhibiting Photography : A Practical Guide to Choosing a Space, Displaying Your Work, and Everything in Between (Oxford, Elsevier, 2008)
Read, Shirley and Simmons, Mike, Photographers and Research: the role of research in contemporary photographic practice (Routledge, 2017)
Essays in Lara by Michael Newgass; Susan Ridge Catalogues; In Creative Camera: 30 Years of Writing; Portraits in a Chinese Studio by Grace Lau, Parakeet Press 2019 |
| Source | Correspondence between Shirley Read and Assistant Archivist/Cataloguer Lucy Catherine Parker, 2023
British Library Sound and Vision blog https://blogs.bl.uk/sound-and-vision/events/page/2/ Accessed May 2023 |
| Related Record(s) | DS/UK/78 |