Belfast Exposed Explained

Belfast Exposed
Coordinates:54.601°N -5.928°W
Location:23 Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 2FF
Type:Independent

Belfast Exposed is a photography gallery in Belfast, established in 1983.[1] [2] It was Northern Ireland's first dedicated photographic gallery[3] [4] and in 2018 Sean O'Hagan in The Guardian described it as "the key independent space for contemporary photography" there.[5] Belfast Exposed houses a 20×7 m gallery for the exhibition of contemporary photography, digital archive browsing facilities, a spacious black and white photographic darkroom and a digital editing suite in its Donegall Street premises.[6]

It was established "to challenge and subvert media representations of the Troubles-torn city".[5] The gallery has focused on the production of socially and politically engaged work, the development and exhibition of community photography. Training is used to encourage local communities to use photography to record and understand their environment.[7]

Belfast Exposed hosts an archive of half a million images, which were to be published online in a digital archive by March 2004.

The gallery is used as a venue during both the Belfast Film Festival and the Belfast Festival at Queen's.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2021-04-22. Belfast Exposed – a photography gallery that crossed the sectarian divide. www.1854.photography.
  2. Web site: 2021-04-22. Belfast Exposed reveals initiatives to keep photo fans in the picture during lockdown. 22 April 2020. The Irish News.
  3. Web site: Dale. Berning. 2021-04-22. Photography: Britain through a lens. 5 August 2011. The Guardian.
  4. Web site: Belfast Exposed - Northern Ireland's Premier Photography Organisation. Belfast Exposed. en-GB. 2019-06-25.
  5. Web site: 2021-04-22. The best UK photography galleries chosen by Sean O'Hagan. 14 October 2018. The Guardian.
  6. Web site: NORTHERN IRELAND: 30 Years of Photography The MAC. themaclive.com. en. 2019-06-25.
  7. Web site: Belfast Exposed Photography Culture24. www.culture24.org.uk. 2019-06-25.
  8. Web site: Category: News. www.belfastexposed.org. 2019-06-25.