photographers gallery announces reopening date

The excellent Photographers Gallery, closed for a year or so now, has just announced that it is to reopen on the 19 May 2012. Put it in the diary right now! This is an important institution that I have greatly missed in recent times. It is still open by appointment and the excellent bookshop is also open but the three new exhibition spaces will bring a huge boost to photographic exhibitions in London. Furthermore it is widely involved in projects, talks and works with schools and education and its importance cannot be underestimated. Expect also for the new cafe to be a good place to drop in to an an arty place to hang out!

The Photographers Gallery is certainly the most relevant and important gallery of its kind in London, and the UK for that matter, founded 1971 in a converted Lyon’s Tea Bar. It was the first independent gallery in Britain devoted to photography and was the first public gallery in the country to exhibit many of the key international names in photography such as Juergen Teller (fashion), Robert Capa (photojournalism), Sebastião Salgado (documentary) and Andreas Gursky (contemporary art). It has also been instrumental in establishing many contemporary British photographers including Martin Parr and Julie Cockburn (illustrated below).

Additionally it has established the highly regarded annual £30k International (now Deutsche Borse) Photography Prize. Past prize winners include Andreas Gursky (1998), Juergen Teller (2003), Robert Adams (2006), Esko Männikkö (2008), Paul Graham (2009), Sophie Ristelhuber (2010) and Jim Goldberg (2011).

The Photographers Gallery is currently on the 3rd Floor at 7 – 9 William Road, London NW1 3ER. Call prior to arrange a visit.

Opening hours Tue – Sat: 10.00 – 18.00  Contact 020 7087 9320

The new Gallery will open on 19 May 2012 at 16-18 Ramillies Street W1F 7LW