It has been 40 years since 30,000 women protested against nuclear weapons being placed at an RAF site in Greenham Common, Berkshire. To mark the occasion, and also today’s International Women’s Day (Wednesday 8 March), an online exhibition has been launched which celebrates the work of female and non-binary photographers.
The exhibition was put together by f22, a group set up by Association of Photographers members to highlight stunning photos and videos produced by women and non-binary people. Work by 15 members of the group are all included in the exhibition. The images all have the theme of community and all it encompasses and includes the Black Girls’ Space at Cambridge University, the East London Rugby Club’s ‘Vixens’ women’s section and the Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp.
AOP CEO Isabelle Doran said: “We’re immensely proud to be supporting our female photographer members in developing their inspired approach to work together and support each other for this collaborative project. The results are a wonderful and sensitive visual translation of the focus they chose, showing a mixed visual tapestry of still and moving images, which, in essence, represents the female gaze.”
The curators of the online exhibition include Andy Greenacre, Photography Director of the Telegraph magazine, Jennie Ricketts, former Picture Editor of the Observer Magazine, Fiona Shields, Head of Photography at the Guardian, and Jane Sherwood, News Editor, EMEA at Getty Images.
Jane Sherwood said: “It was a privilege to be asked to be one of the curators for the f22
Community and Connection project. Championing women photographers is a necessary part of the journey to equal representation in the field of editorial photography. I was really keen to see the various interpretations of community and connection in the projects undertaken.”
Take a look through the gallery below to see some of the stunning images included in the exhibition.
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1. Mama’s Milk by Denise Maxwell (Lensi Photography)
Mama’s Milk is a natural portrait series showing breastfeeding mothers from the black mama’s birth village, a support group for black mothers and mothers to be. The group was started this month, with the aim to celebrate and empower mothers who choose to breastfeed. Photo by Denise Maxwell (Lensi Photography).
2. Strangers No More by Gabrielle Motola
Photographer Gabrielle Motola started taking portraits of people she met on the street in 2018. This is one of a number of photos of a woman she met called Amanda Rogers. Motola first took photos of Rogers when she saw her out and about, but then she asked her to meet her for a more formal sitting. The results are the photos included in the exhibition, and Rogers is photographed wearing the outfit she was wearing when she first met Motola. Photo by Gabrielle Motola.
3. Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp by Wendy Carrig
This is one of several photos which was taken to commemorate four decades since 30,000 women protested at Greenham Common, Berkshire. This cause is still something that the women involved feel passionately about today. These photos were taken in December 2022. Many of the women taking part are now in their seventies, but they still camped in sub-zero temperatures because they were determined to continue their ongoing protest against the existence of nuclear weapons. Photo by Wendy Carrig.
4. Life at the Almhouses by Scarlet Page
Photographer Scarlet Page took photos showing people who spend time in almhouses, a charitable form of self-sufficient, low cost community housing that is held in trust for local people in housing need. Page said she wanted to do this to explore the links between community and connection. Pictured is Reverend Peter. Photo by Scarlet Page.