Talk: Women Exile Photographers in Britain

Lotte Lenya by Gerty Simon

The Wiener Library, London

When Gerty Simon was forced into exile in 1933 she was one of many photographers who fled Germany and Austria during the 1930s.  John March has made a study of the group of two dozen women exile photographers, some well-known, and others with brief or unrecognised careers. In his illustrated talk he will look at their backgrounds and the circumstances of their exile, and the paths that led to photography.  Their work is considered in terms how they brought a fresh approach to photographic expression to Britain and how their published work and activities impacted the British visual landscape.  The stories of their lives speak of resilience and achievement in the face of traumatic personal and family dislocation, while their work records aspects of a high-point of photographic innovation and social impact.

About the speaker: 

John March is an independent researcher and is an associate faculty member of the University of Leeds.

Talk: 6.30-8.00pm

Free, but booking essential