Each year as part of Graduate Photography Online we ask a number of professionals from the world of photography to review all the work submitted and choose their favourites. We chat to Katy Barron, Festival Director at Photo Oxford and Selector for the MA/MFA phase of Graduate Photography Online 2024.
Katy Barron
Festival Director, Photo Oxford
Tell us about your work and particularly your recent appointment as Festival Director at Photo Oxford? What does your day-to-day routine as a curator involve?
I’ve been Director of Photo Oxford for nearly 6 months and my day-to-day routine is extremely varied. It might include meetings with festival partners who are in charge of the spaces that we hope to use for the festival – such as the public galleries attached to one of the Oxford university colleges or maybe a local museum. Equally, I might be meeting potential sponsors as we need to fundraise for the festival. I spend a lot of time talking to photographers and thinking about the form of the festival and how best to really consider and interrogate the theme. I’m also working with our Comms Team on how to announce the next festival this coming autumn, and how to keep our profile up during this interim period. I’ve initiated some exhibitions and outreach projects in and around Oxford and so these also have to be curated and delivered.
How did you make your way into the area of work you're now in? Did you always want to work in a field that involved photography?
I started my career from the point of view of an art-historian and that perspective still informs everything that I do. I worked in the public sector as a curator of paintings and then decided to shift my focus to photography as I felt that it was a much more relevant and inclusive medium. I’ve been focussed on photography for the last 20 years or so and have enjoyed a huge variety of roles, from gallerist to mentor to my current role as festival director.
How do you decide on what makes an interesting photograph or photographic project?
I am always interested in how visual form, process and idea are inextricably bound together. For me a great photographer or project will have considered each of these things and found a way to combine them in order to produce something that is more than the sum of its parts. I am rarely interested in imagery that only succeeds with a great deal of explanatory text or work that is overly theory-driven. However, ultimately, I’m excited to see anything and open to everything.
As regards the photographer's statement, what are the most important things for you to know about the work? When it comes to showing their work outside of University, do you have any tips on how graduates should prepare their work and the supporting material that accompanies it?
I am always disappointed when a photographer presents their work to me (in person) on a screen, and I would much rather see prints if possible. I would suggest that a statement should be short and simple as even the most complex ideas can be expressed in this way. So I’d rather see a small group of prints than lots of images on a screen. Graduates don’t need to present their work in a book, there is too much focus on the book at the moment. These are expensive and often a bit of an ego trip.
What are the particular challenges you see facing graduates from photography degree courses as they make their way into the world at this particular point in time?
I have concerns about the increasing number of photography courses on offer in higher education, and that there is insufficient opportunity for new graduates as a result. I would suggest that recent graduates think laterally about what they want to do and how their photography degree could be applied outside the narrow world of commercial, editorial or fine art photography. And of course, don’t give up!
What advice would you have for someone interested in working in your particular area of photography?
I would suggest that they find ways to put on exhibitions themselves – this could be at home or in a shop/café etc. The skills that they will learn can be applied more broadly. Academic expertise is also crucial and I would encourage them to apply for writing commissions in order to have their ideas published and shared. There are increasing numbers of paid internships and these are really good way into the curatorial world. Other ways in would be to work for a gallery or to do a masters/Phd in a related field that could then be applied within a curatorial context. Get to know your subject, meet lots of photographers, go to see as much work as you can and immerse yourself.