IP Unit: Reflective Report

Inclusive Pedagogy in Photography Education

Introduction

I am an artist, photographer and educator, these roles I play are not mutually exclusive. I am reminded of the Venn diagram from my secondary school education and that of my interview to join the university. I spoke of the need to not “silo” the photography pathways and I feel this applies to pedagogical practices to foster inclusivity, community and address the challenges faced by students.

Photography is often described as a universal language, but this framing risks flattening the political and cultural histories embedded within the image. The photographic canon particularly within Western art education, continues to marginalise non-Western voices, aesthetics, and philosophies. In my role as an arts educator within a postgraduate photography programme, I have witnessed students arrive with a deeply internalised belief in Western superiority in photography who measure themselves against Euro-American benchmarks while remaining either unaware of alternative visual traditions or choose what is seen as the model route to success in a competitive industry.

This reflective report outlines the rationale, execution, and outcomes of an interventionist workshop titled “A Diverse Language.” It is rooted in an inclusive and decolonial pedagogy, the workshop seeks to redress the imbalance of references and create cross-cultural, collaborative environments that challenge students to see and think differently. Drawing from contemporary theory, global photographic practices, and embodied exercises, this report positions inclusive learning as a pedagogical, aesthetic, and political imperative.

Context and Problem Identification

The MA Photography cohort I work with is diverse in nationality and cultural background, yet the classroom discussions remain tethered to a Western frame of reference especially within Commercial photography. Contemporary photographers and artists such Cindy Sherman, Annie Leibovitz, Alec Soth, Nick Knight, Tim Walker and Wolfgang Tillmans dominate conversations, while artists from India, Bangladesh, Morocco, China, Ghana, Cameroon, Mali or Nigeria are seldom mentioned. The visual language absorbed and reproduced by students is often rooted in formalist, Eurocentric conventions of “good photography.” Even when photographers of colour are mentioned they fit what is seen as palatable to the western gaze and stories that only beautify rather than have a deeper conversation, keeping the status quo of the good photograph.There is the compounded affect of industry that promotes the ideas of diversity but gatekeepers and cliques of practitioners develop the model of the “closed shop” only enabling those who fit their criteria. We can see this in the norms of social media practices on platforms such as Instagram where those in the exclusive club follow each other and continue to keep the doors closed and the ceilings high at the same time are performative in their actions for meaningful change.

Students also gravitate toward their own cultural and linguistic groups, further limiting exchange. Rather than engaging with the unfamiliar, there is a tendency to stay within the safe boundaries of known experience and reference. This insularity, both aesthetic and social, urgently calls for an intervention that would unsettle the hierarchical gaze and promote inclusive learning as well promote dialogue and engage in conversations outside of the course.

Pedagogical Approach

The workshop draws from Bell Hooks’ theory of education as “the practice of freedom” and Paulo Freire’s concept of co-created knowledge through dialogue. It is also informed by Ariella Azoulay’s notion of photography as a civic encounter (2018) where meaning and ethics emerge relationally rather than authorially. These philosophies are aligned with Hong (2025), who critiques how aesthetic schemas such as the reclining female nude persist in modern Chinese photography under colonial influence, highlighting how the legacy of Western aesthetics operates even within non-Western contexts.

To dismantle these entangled legacies, the workshop employs a participatory, performative and decolonial pedagogy. Students are not just taught about diversity; they are made to experience it through embodied, collaborative practice. In Bhagat, D. and O’Neill, P. (2011), I summarise that any tangible change in inclusive practice requires a shift within pedogogy, one that can recognise and respond to the diversity within photography across the world. The notion that by enabling entry to students is not a measure of or equate to a supportive or equitable learning environment.

This intervention I hope can address this and provide a safe space where students can collaborate, exchange knowledge, gain self-confidence and importantly bring new voices to the fore and celebrate those that have been sidelined.

Workshop Design: “A Diverse Language”

The workshop is structured into five distinct yet interlinked stages:

1. Framing the Issue:

Students are introduced to the workshop through a discussion that critically unpacks the idea of photography as a neutral or universal language. We view resources such as Renee Mussai’s “Black Portraiture” (YouTube, 2022), alongside excerpts from A Window Suddenly Opens, a groundbreaking exhibition on Chinese photography (Chiu & Johnson, 2023). These discussions help reframe photography not as a tool of mastery, but as a site of resistance, memory, and multiplicity. We incorporate readings from Moumni (2024) on fashion photography in postcolonial Morocco, who argues for the reconstruction of identity through the lens and critiques the objectifying gaze embedded in mainstream fashion narratives.

2. Cross-Cultural Buddy System:

Students are paired across gender, nationality, and MA pathways into “buddies.” Each pair is tasked with sharing a deeply personal insight something meaningful, possibly hidden from their lives. This may begin as a voice message, WhatsApp text, or even a drawing. The task is not only to reveal, but to listen, interpret, and carry someone else’s story into visual form.

This act echoes Vygotsky’s social constructivist model, where knowledge is created through interaction. Here, the act of photographing becomes relational rather than representational.

3. The Disruption Task:

Each group receives 10 sheets of Polaroid instant film and a camera. Their brief: create photographs that reflect or reinterpret their buddy’s insight, while deliberately challenging dominant aesthetic conventions. The goal is to produce images that feel “boring,” “mundane,” or “formally wrong” in order to interrogate what students unconsciously consider “good photography.”

As Hong (2025) suggests, unlearning aesthetic expectations is a first step toward uncovering the colonial scaffolding beneath photographic traditions.

Students use every day spaces classrooms, stairwells, the canteen to stage their images. The intention is to elevate the ordinary, to look beyond spectacle, and to find poetic potential in the overlooked.

4. Nonlinear Exhibition:

After developing the Polaroids, students are required to give their photographs to another group. The receiving group must curate a spontaneous wall installation using only unfamiliar images. This relinquishing of authorship challenges individualistic models of creativity and encourages a more fluid, interpretive engagement with the image.

The temporary exhibition resists chronology, narrative coherence, and ownership. It is a living archive of misinterpretation, collaboration, and shared meaning.

5. Reflection and Critique:

In a closing roundtable, each group reflects on what they thought the images they exhibited meant, and the original makers reveal their intentions. This leads to a rich discussion about visual misrecognition, positionality, and how meaning can shift in transit.

Inclusive Learning Through Global References

Central to the success of the workshop is the incorporation of global and non-Western references, which helped students break out of the narrow confines of the Euro-American canon. Students engaged with:

• African photographers such as Zanele Muholi , James Barnor, Lindokhule Sobekwa, Malick Sidibé whose work blends identity, community, and resistance.
• African American Photographers such as Zora Murff , Deana Lawson, Widen Cadet, Rahim Fortune
• Indian photographers like Dayanita Singh ,Gauri Gill , Sohrab Hura, who offer nuanced readings of personal and political histories through portraiture and architectural space.
• Asian practitioners including Hiroshi Sugimoto , Daido Moriyama ,Ren Hang , Kathy Ann Lim whose practices disrupt temporality and formal conventions.
• Tamvi Mishra’s curatorial work in India and Southeast Asia, and Veerangana Solanki’s efforts to challenge patriarchal framing in art and image-making.

This diverse spectrum of work creates a new visual vocabulary for students. 

Reflections on Impact

The workshop I hope can have profound effects on both the classroom atmosphere and individual student practice. I want students to be “freed” from the pressure to conform to dominant visual styles and work with someone outside their cultural or language group before.

By reframing photography as a collaborative, interpretive, and political act, students began to recognise their own complicity in reproducing hegemonic standards and their power to subvert them.

The images produced, though technically imperfect, can be deeply affecting. A still life of leftover rice on a canteen table, a unused computer, the pencil on a ledge, a disruptive portrait carry more weight than a well-lit studio photograph because of the story behind it. The formal “failure” became a narrative success.

Challenges and Next Steps

It is important note that my positionality as a South Asian male who has been born in the United Kingdom. My own photographic education has undoubtedly been influenced by the dominant culture of the west which brings bias. It is the water I have drunk that has both nourished and diminished me in part.

My experience as a professional photographer has led me to prioritize a path that has conformed to the narratives in play in the industry. The glass ceilings and socio-economic consequences have their part in these decisions.

It is vital that I as an educator and participant in the wider industry make more interventions to not only highlight but to make meaningful change by leading by example not only to the students but within the institution of education and my colleagues.

Some students can struggle with the ambiguity of the brief. Others may find the personal-sharing aspect emotionally challenging. These experiences highlight the need for emotional scaffolding in pedagogical design future iterations of the workshop will include content warnings, support prompts, and opt-out alternatives.

Additionally, the current assessment model focused on individual portfolios and critical writing does not easily accommodate collective, process-driven outcomes. Moving forward, I plan to introduce alternative forms of assessment that reward collaboration, interpretation, and critical self-reflection. I have run a basic version of this workshop and my plan now is to incorporate this workshop moving forward in the new academic year consulting with my colleagues on the best way forward in the first term where I feel the impact can at its most beneficial.

Conclusion

“A Diverse Language” is more than a workshop; it is an evolving intervention into the structures of knowledge, authorship, and aesthetic power within photography education. By using global references, fostering intercultural collaboration, and embracing disruption, the workshop cultivates a pedagogy that is both inclusive and radical.

Photography is not just about what we see, but about how and with whom we choose to look. By unsettling the dominant gaze, we can begin to build new visual languages that are as plural, porous, and poetic as the communities we serve.

References

• Hong, F. (2025). The coloniality beneath the aesthetics: A study on the reclining female schema in modern Chinese photography. Visual Studies, pp.1–14.
• Moumni, O. (2024). Rethinking fashion photography: Reconstructing identities, decolonising bodies and resistance in postcolonial Morocco. Visual Studies, pp.1–13.
• The Artling. (2019). Top 13 Famous Asian Photographers You Need To Know. [online] Available at: https://theartling.com/en/artzine/famous-asian-photographers/ [Accessed 24 Jun. 2025].
• Gautami. (2022). 10 Iconic Indian Photographers. [online] India Art Fair. Available at: https://indiaartfair.in/10-iconic-indian-photographers [Accessed 24 Jun. 2025].
• Tate. (n.d.). Get to know 8 photographers who explore Africa’s diverse cultures and histories. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/photography/get-to-know-8-photographers-who-explore-africas-diverse-cultures-and-histories.
• Mussai, R. (2022). Black Portraiture: Activating Histories. [YouTube]. Autograph ABP.
• Mishra, T. (2024). Any Answers? [1854 Photography]. Available at: https://www.1854.photography/2024/02/curator-tanvi-mishra-any-answers-arles/
• Solanki, V. (2024). On Gender and the Image. [YouTube]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmtYgHx098E
• Chiu, M. & Johnson, B. (2023). A Window Suddenly Opens: Contemporary Photography in China. Hirshhorn Museum.
• Ariella Azoulay – The Civil Contract of Photography (2018) , Princeton University Press
• Bhagat, D. and O’Neill, P. (2011) Inclusive practices, inclusive pedagogies: learning from widening participation research in art and design higher education. Croydon: CHEAD.

There has been an increased attention being been paid to the racial inequalities embedded in UK higher education. Reading the  wide range of resources—from academic studies like Rhianna Garrett’s “Racism Shapes Careers”, to critiques of institutional diversity like the Telegraph’s video on Advance HE reveals the complex and insdieious ways in which racism continues to shape not only who enters academia, but who thrives within it. Viewed through an anti-racist lens, these resources point to a pressing need for structural transformation rather than surface-level inclusion. Namely what feels like a tick box exercise without confronting the actual issues on the ground. 

Garrett’s research foregrounds the lived experiences of racialised minority PhD students in the UK, demonstrating that career progression is not simply a matter of merit, but is deeply affected by race, class, gender, and institutional culture. The “leaky pipeline” metaphor—where BAME students drop out of the academic career path at each stage , reveals that barriers are not accidental but systemic. Black students are less likely to access prestigious institutions that feed into doctoral study, and once in academia, they often face microaggressions, exclusion, and pressure to conform to white, middle-class norms of professionalism. I feel this also applies to those deemed minorities within the structures of academia. Alongside this those educators who also are based in industry face a double whammy trying to survive a system already systemic racist and underrepresented with an academic structure that doesn’t take into account the social economic needs of these individuals. The video of Channel 4. (2020) The School That Tried to End Racism really speak volumes of this stratus.

Through the lens of anti-racism, this isn’t just about individual unfairness—it’s about recognising whiteness as an institutional norm that dictates who belongs and who does not. Concepts like the “whitening of neurodiversity” show how even inclusion efforts can marginalise if they’re not intersectional. Anti-racism demands that we challenge these underlying structures of power and visibility, rather than merely increasing the number of racialised individuals in the room.

This is where resources like the Telegraph’s video become revealing. While framed as an exposé of Advance HE’s “woke agenda,” the piece fails to engage critically with the data or lived realities of marginalised students and staff. Instead, it reaffirms the authority of white, elite voices to define what counts as “excellence” and what is dismissed as ideological. From an anti-racist perspective, this is a reminder that resistance to diversity is often disguised as concern for standards. But equity is not the enemy of excellence—it is its precondition.

True anti-racism in higher education means moving beyond optical diversity and confronting the cultural, historical, and structural foundations that uphold racial inequality. It means listening to racialised students and staff not as a token gesture, but as co-creators of knowledge. It also means rethinking how we understand merit, success, and professionalism—terms often rooted in white, colonial legacies.

As educators, researchers, and students, we must ask: Who gets to imagine themselves in academia? Who is included in our syllabi, our classrooms, and our decision-making? And most importantly, what do we do when the answer reveals uncomfortable truths?

My role at UAL is that we are often involved in planning and teaching. At times there feels not enough time to explain these issues as an individual balancing these issues whether they are in the classroom or the office. The social economic consequences of being a person of colour in an industry where there is a glass ceiling and the day to day realities of life paying bills etc take precedent and at the same time knowing the inequalities present. 

For some it may seem like I am doing well but when I look at the litmus test of my colleagues and the opportunities bestowed upon them its very had to ignore the system at play. 

How do we also educated our students to try and overcome these hurdles if at all.  When I started in the industry I was one of two people of colour in the field today there are more of us, when I look at the cohorts especially on the undergraduate side it feels more inclusive and I find myself playing the role of an “Uncle” or as they say “Unc” trying to guide these young people and opening up opportunities. Maybe it is here that Asia Sadiq’s approach can be the way forward . We can adapt teaching styles to look and helps those from diverse backgrounds. We can look at broader perspectives to include diverse voices and experiences.

Only by grappling with these questions honestly—and resisting the urge to retreat into defensiveness—can UK academia become a truly inclusive and anti-racist space.

Reflecting on Alice Bradbury’s article in “Race Ethnicity and Education” one of the key takeaways the effect of EAL speakers and the constructs in place that disadvantage these students especially on the criteria used. My personal teaching advocates spending time and listening, building confidence in my students to use their mother languages to express what they want to achieve and expressing my confidence in them rather than a system where they feel they are not valued. It is about taking the time and effort even against policies in place that don’t give the students confidence because the pressures placed on staff especially in regards to contact hours, the powers that be can point to language classes but realistically is that the only solution.

Faith is often seen as a private matter; a personal set of spiritual beliefs held quietly by individuals. But faith doesn’t exist in isolation. It is shaped, expressed, and interpreted through a web of other identity markers especially race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Drawing on Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality, we can better understand how these layers of identity overlap to influence the religious experiences of individuals, particularly those from marginalised communities.

In many societies, religion is racialised. People often associate certain faiths with ethnic groups, leading to stereotyping and discrimination. Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus in the West, for example, are not only judged by their beliefs but also by their skin colour, names, or clothing. These assumptions feed into broader social prejudices. Within some communities, internal divisions have also emerged where faith becomes a tool for differentiation, leading to distinctions like “we are not like them”, a dynamic rooted in the politics of respectability and assimilation.

Even within dominant religious traditions, race shapes whose voices are heard. In the United States, Black Christians have long drawn on Black liberation theology to express their faith as a force for justice. Yet, their perspectives are often marginalised in favour of White Christian norms. This silencing shows how racial identity can influence theological credibility and visibility.

Gender adds another critical layer. Women of faith, especially those who express their beliefs through religious dress, face compounded challenges. In secular societies, veiled Muslim women are frequently perceived as oppressed or lacking agency. Yet, many wear the hijab or other garments as a deeply personal and empowered choice. Visit Whitechapel High Street or Green Street , Upton Park in London, and you’ll see this clearly—women expressing their faith and identity with pride and individuality through fashion.

However, women of faith often encounter bias both within and outside religious institutions. They may be excluded from leadership roles or dismissed when contributing to theological or political discourse. Yet figures like Sojourner Truth remind us that faith can be a tool of resistance. Her Christian beliefs were central to her activism, showing how faith and feminism are not mutually exclusive.

Class also plays a significant role in shaping religious life. For individuals facing economic hardship, faith communities often provide vital emotional, material, and spiritual support. Yet, mainstream religious narratives frequently reflect middle- or upper-class values, excluding the lived realities and theologies of the economically marginalized.

This intersectional view of faith is not just theoretical—it plays out in real-world educational settings. As a lecturer on the MA Commercial Photography course at UAL, I witness how students navigate these complexities firsthand. In a recent project, a stylist of Goan Hindu heritage collaborated with a Pakistani Muslim model. The model didn’t wear a hijab but wanted to maintain cultural modesty in the shoot. Through open conversation and collaborative planning, we were able to honour both fashion and faith—balancing creativity with cultural sensitivity. This allowed the students to actively learn and understand the intersections of race, faith and gender and to be able to respond and respect to communities and individuals that many of my our students are unaware of beyond generalised stereotypes.

Bringing in individuals from industry and those whose lived experience allows the students brings a different and more pronounced dynamic and I would argue a better and stronger interaction and response.

However I think that we must be aware of the growing influence of social media and the impact it has both nationally and internationally. Alongside intimidation by students on their peers and those who don’t agree with their religious or nationalistic beliefs.

Looking at UAL’s diversity and inclusion data, it’s clear we must foster deeper engagement with diverse belief systems. In my teaching, I aim to create inclusive learning environments through the visual references I choose, one-on-one support, and a classroom culture of mutual respect. I avoid assumptions and encourage dialogue, ensuring every student feels seen and valued. This must also be essential in the work that students want to produce, we as educators must be aware of our own prejudices and offer our students the widest opportunity not narrow bandwidths that can add to embedding cliches and stereotypes.

Religion is never one-dimensional. To understand it, we must acknowledge how faith interacts with race, gender, and class—and ensure that those at the margins are not only heard but embraced.

This is an interventionist workshop – One of the main issues I have found is the lack of diverse references in the course. The students come with an opinion formed with the superiority of the western model of photography – basically that what is in the Western market place is the best and a standard to attain. Alongside this importantly there is a lack of knowledge of photographers who are Black/ People of Colour / Gender.

What I am also finding is comfortability in their own backgrounds rather than interaction with students who are not from their background. 

Workshop – A Diverse language spoken and unspoken

“I take pictures, in order to see the world.” 

Has photography become the international language now? With the democratisation of photography through the smartphone, visual literacy is now the new normal.

But is it enough,or do we need to disrupt our senses by making what is deemed a “bad”photograph. Can this allow us to see with clarity ? If so how does this affect our senses and ultimately how we approach commissions and personal practice.

Importantly to include Diverse references rather than looking at artists and photographers from a Western tradition, I would use resources ranging from the Global South, Africa and Asia. Using both contemporary practices including inteventions and positionality from this practictioners. 

I want you to find out something important about your partner – it can be a secret, a food, a book, it can be anything that they keep for themselves and then I want you to interprete this.

It an start with a phone text or voice message for you to listen to. 

Then 

I  want you to REIMAGINE the spaces, still lifes, portraits into a contemporary reading. 

How can you look beyond the Ordinary, Boring sometimes Mundane situations around us. It is these moments that we can see something special. Looking at the use of architectural spaces, staged portraiture and distruption of the colonial gaze.

We are going to elevate the photographs we make in this session in the various areas of the university whether that’s in the studio or in the buildings/ classrooms / canteen and also outside in the local area. 

You will be working together as a group importantly these groups have to mixed , a possible intervention would be a buddy system, and could be formulated across the different MA Photography Pathways.

After the exercise of making the work a non linear narrative  impromtu exhibit. Using Blue tack and Stick on a Wall, however the stipulation is that nobody is allowed their own photographs they must give them over to another group. 

Educational Resources 

Reading materials – Shining Lights: Black Women Photographers in 1980s–90s Britain

AUTOGRAPH ABH – Acts of Solidarity

2025 – 2028 

Tamvi Mishra

Curator Tanvi Mishra: ‘Does becoming visible ensure empowerment? I’m not convinced’

Veerangana Solanki 

Renee Mussai 

Black Portraiture -Activating Histories: Visualizing and Restaging the Archive

Identity in Contemporary Photography

A Window Suddenly Opens: Contemporary Photography in China, edited by Melissa Chiu and Betsy Johnson-

 “A Window Suddenly Opens: Contemporary Photography in China will be the Hirshhorn’s first survey of photography by leading multigenerational Chinese artists made between the 1990s and 2000s. The exhibition will showcase 186 artworks made between 1993 and 2022 of which 141 are a landmark promised gift to the Hirshhorn from pioneering collector of Chinese art Larry Warsh. The exhibition’s title is drawn from a 1997 publication, a near manifesto, by Rong Rong and Liu Zheng that celebrated the possibilities in shifting the practice of photography away from realism toward a conceptual art practice.

 

Tasks

• You have 15 minutes as a buddys to make the photographs where you will together help each make your photographs. Working as a team to share the resources
• If notice something you want to make a photograph of , make a mental note      
• and one its your turn go make the photograph.

• Don’t wait for the image to appear – as soon as you have made your photograph pass the camera to the next person. 
• Work as a team 
• observe each other 
• Make a note mentally of what you think the person is photographing 
• We can then see if its what they intended or what you invisaged
• Each member of the group must make one image as a minimum 
• We have 10 sheets of Polaroid Instant Film per group of buddies/
• A Polaroid Camera 
• Remember that this task is about disrupting both your visual literacy and taking into account the briefing 
• So experiment making a photograph that is “ordinary” “boring” 
• A simple observation elevated to stature.

What I am also finding is comfortability in their own backgrounds rather than interaction with students who are not from their background. 

Workshop – A Diverse language

“I take pictures, in order to see the world.” 

Has photography become the international language now? With the democratisation of photography through the smartphone, visual literacy is now the new normal.

But is it enough,or do we need to disrupt our senses by making what is deemed a “bad”photograph. Can this allow us to see with clarity ? If so how does this affect our senses and ultimately how we approach commissions and personal practice.

Importantly to include Diverse references rather than looking at artists and photographers from a Western tradition, I would use resources ranging from the Global South, Africa and Asia. Using both contemporary practices including inteventions and positionality from this practictioners. 

I want you to find out something important about your partner – it can be a secret, a food, a book, it can be anything that they keep for themselves and then I want you to interprete this.

It an start with a phone text or voice message for you to listen to. 

Then 

I  want you to REIMAGINE the spaces, still lifes, portraits into a contemporary reading. 

How can you look beyond the Ordinary, Boring sometimes Mundane situations around us. It is these moments that we can see something special. Looking at the use of architectural spaces, staged portraiture and distruption of the colonial gaze.

We are going to elevate the photographs we make in this session in the various areas of the university whether that’s in the studio or in the buildings/ classrooms / canteen and also outside in the local area. 

You will be working together as a group importantly these groups have to mixed , a possible intervention would be a buddy system, and could be formulated across the different MA Photography Pathways.

After the exercise of making the work a non linear narrative  impromtu exhibit. Using Blue tack and Stick on a Wall, however the stipulation is that nobody is allowed their own photographs they must give them over to another group. 

Educational Resources 

Reading materials – Shining Lights: Black Women Photographers in 1980s–90s Britain

AUTOGRAPH ABH – Acts of Solidarity

2025 – 2028 

Tamvi Mishra

Curator Tanvi Mishra: ‘Does becoming visible ensure empowerment? I’m not convinced’

Veerangana Solanki 

Renee Mussai 

Black Portraiture -Activating Histories: Visualizing and Restaging the Archive

Identity in Contemporary Photography

A Window Suddenly Opens: Contemporary Photography in China, edited by Melissa Chiu and Betsy Johnson-

 “A Window Suddenly Opens: Contemporary Photography in China will be the Hirshhorn’s first survey of photography by leading multigenerational Chinese artists made between the 1990s and 2000s. The exhibition will showcase 186 artworks made between 1993 and 2022 of which 141 are a landmark promised gift to the Hirshhorn from pioneering collector of Chinese art Larry Warsh. The exhibition’s title is drawn from a 1997 publication, a near manifesto, by Rong Rong and Liu Zheng that celebrated the possibilities in shifting the practice of photography away from realism toward a conceptual art practice.

 

Tasks

• You have 15 minutes as a buddys to make the photographs where you will together help each make your photographs. Working as a team to share the resources
• If notice something you want to make a photograph of , make a mental note      
• and one its your turn go make the photograph.

• Don’t wait for the image to appear – as soon as you have made your photograph pass the camera to the next person. 
• Work as a team 
• observe each other 
• Make a note mentally of what you think the person is photographing 
• We can then see if its what they intended or what you invisaged
• Each member of the group must make one image as a minimum 
• We have 10 sheets of Polaroid Instant Film per group of buddies/
• A Polaroid Camera 
• Remember that this task is about disrupting both your visual literacy and taking into account the briefing 
• So experiment making a photograph that is “ordinary” “boring” 
• A simple observation elevated to stature.

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Blog Task #1

Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality to analyse how disability intersects with other identity factors.

Intersectionality, a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, describes how social identities like race, gender, class, and disability overlap and interact to produce unique experiences of marginalization.

When applied to race and disability, Ade Adepitan identifies the key intersection of race and disability. The systemic discrimination intersectionality helps us understand that People of colour with disabilities often face dual forms of discrimination but at once. Systems like healthcare, education, and criminal justice are often not designed to account for these intersecting identities. For example, a Black disabled person might be more likely to be misdiagnosed, underserved, or subject to racial violence, compared to white or non-disabled individuals. Disability justice activists emphasize that disability is not just a medical or legal issue, but also a social and political one, shaped by race, class, and other factors. Ignoring the intersection of race and disability risks creating exclusionary movements: Racial justice work might overlook access needs. Disability advocacy might centre white, middle-class voices and ignore racialized experiences.

Christine Sun Kim’s life in Berlin exemplifies how disability justice is shaped not just by identity, but by policy and place. Her work and life underscore that access is political and that governments can either enable autonomy orenforce dependence and debt, depending on how they structure care. As a Deaf Asian American woman, Kim’s experiences of exclusion in the U.S. were compounded by the lack of accessibility at high school and college. The turning point was In New York whereupon the challenges of the city gave her confidence. I thought also was this also being in a place where the city is multicultural? Whereas both her being deaf and Asian that position of Intersectionality played its part in that geographic space. In Germany, despite being a foreigner, she finds fewer barriers to basic accessibility a powerful contrast that shows how national policy shapes lived experience. Her critique is not just about Deaf access, but about who gets to live with dignity and autonomy. Her experience also in Manchester I feel also reinforced this in terms of her practice and being given autonomy of her work and its impact. She notes that in Berlin, disability is treated more as a collective responsibility — part of the social contract rather than a personal burden. “In Germany, I feel like I can just be Deaf. In the U.S., I had to constantly explain, negotiate, and justify my existence.” — Christine Sun Kim

Chay Brown underscores how queer and trans individuals navigate multiple layers of identity and oppression and the challenges he faces at the intersection of gender identity and disability. He is honest about his white privilege and CIS man passing but importantly he notes that his disability is hidden Underlying this is the accessibility issues for the disabled trans community in structures that are both physical and emotional. How can the these “events” be inclusive. This brought me back to Crenshaw’s writings regarding women of colour, rape and domestic violence and the challenges she noted in the shelters around language, race and cultural. What changes needed to be made, who was empowered and how they used that power. Lived Experience, Listening and asking the questions and acting on what you have been told makes a huge difference. Bringing Inclusivity, Visibility and spreading the word.

The disability considerations within my teaching practice are my students who are neuro diverse and it is the hidden disabilities that impact upon them. Both gender and race have been at the forefront of my considerations. These intersections I am acutely aware of from personal lived experiences both from the past and present with having a hidden disability of Myastenia Gravis and a person of colour.

Academic and arts institutions often fail to accommodate fluctuating energy levels, need for flexible schedules, or rest time.

This disproportionately impacts those who don’t have generational wealth or institutional privilege to fall back on—race and class deeply shape who can “afford” to be sick in creative or educational spaces.

With this personal experience I am trying to actively pursue a teaching practice that empowers my students both individuality and as a community both present and past students.

Lesson Plan for Observation by Kwame Baah for Kalpesh Lathigra

Introduction to Large and Medium Format Cameras Workshop

Sessions are limited to 8 students at a time and the workshops are offered as a sign up extra on the MA Commercial Photography Course.

There is an announcement I place on Moodle for students on my MA Commercial Photography Pathway initially to gauge interest. Once it is determined how many students are interested. Dates are announce and a sign up procedure put in place.

Logistics and planning from camera hire, studio booking and technical staff are initiated a month in advance in preparation for the workshops.

The workshops are repeated over a period of a month to allow all students to participate.

They are encouraged to sign up to expand their knowledge using analogue technology.

These sessions are taught over the period of a full day in the photographic studio , I have technician on hand helping me in the studio for practical reasons around health and safety and the number of students using complicated equipment.

Morning Session 10am – 1pm

Introduction

Welcome the students and  they are introduced to both format of cameras. Most students are familiar with digital cameras and the technical aspects of using a camera. They are encouraged  to hold the cameras and get a physical feel of the equipment which are on a table. Usually the students are buddied up into pairs as equipment is limited.

15-20 min Slide show lecture follows showing leading practitioners work and a video of the cameras in use.

Introducing film format to the students

What is 5×4 Sheet and 120 film  and paper positive sheet 5×4

The actual physical film is shown and students are handing examples of the film to have a tangible experience. This is also necessary as they will later in the workshop load the film

How does it differ from other formats

What are the limits of the film in terms of colour and black/white.

Introducing the Cameras

Both examples of the cameras are on tripods allowing for the students to move freely and gather around the studio as I explain the technical aspects of the camera.

Each student will handle the camera and make a some test frames. This will involve using their buddy partner as their subject and vis versa. At this point there is no camera in the film.

Film Loading

Loading 5×4 sheet is both complicated and simple

It is explained that it must take place in complete darkness

They are handed film holders and exposed film is given to the students to practice loading in daylight. Once they are confident they go to the darkroom where they load the actual film that we provide.

120 film is relatively straightforward and students are introduced to film back and taught the loading procedure which is in daylight and significantly easier.  

Studio

A simple flash lighting set up is put in place ( students are already familiar with this)

Students then take a series of portraits of each other.

I will be alongside them helping them and walking them through each of the steps of using the camera.

End of session – film is collected and handed to darkroom staff for processing and developing. Students collect the following week. The negatives can be printed in a colour workshop they can sign up for creating a teaching workflow from one practice to another. This allows for a skill set to be built up in analogue photography practice.

Afternoon Session – 2-5pm

Using 5×4 Positive Paper

As the student understand the basics of film loading they are then introduced to a particular process of using a Positive Paper – in essence it gives an almost instant result in the darkroom after making the photograph.

Students are given the paper to load in 5×4 dark slides in darkroom

Students come back to Studio and make another portrait but with new buddy

Students then go into darkroom again and the positive paper is then developed in photographic chemicals in trays giving the students an almost instant result.

This activity allows for both a fun and practical exercise in building confidence in using the large format cameras and has proved to be very popular.

Links to Practitioners who use Large Format

https://gagosian.com/artists/deana-lawson/

https://alecsoth.com/photography/

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-large-format-film-photography/

Background

A comparison of the assessing learning in formative assessments in a classroom with peers and personal tutorials and exchanging feedback creates numerous positive and negative scenarios. There are students who are neurodiverse who find the environment of a peer to peer exchange of assessment challenging for example being asked to contribute to a crit can result in situation where they feel uncomfortable speaking to a group like wise students who feel that their language skills are not adequate and need time to reflect on what is being asked of them within a short intense time frame feel under undue pressure to give any meaningful response.Whereas within the personal tutorial while still in a short time frame which always over runs there is some dialogue that allows for constructive feedback towards the final summative assessment.

Evaluation – Evidence

In the classroom approach I have followed a structure that feels constrained by time. After completing a short formative assessment followed by peer feedback has amounted to being not very constructive, partly due to two factors.

The same students tend to give feedback, often there feels fear in expression of being critical so as not to upset their fellow students. “The notion of the ‘educated self’ is a contested one and one subject to change.” Barrow

Moving Forward

Assessment as a technology of the self –

 I will reflect on the strategies of combining “disciplinary technologies and technologies of the self “noted in Barrow 2006 and find a role between these two, I will use the assessment technology in an individualising way, to know the student and provide a guide to the student to recognise his or her strengths and weaknesses to achieve the desired outcomes. These must go arm in arm with discussions with colleagues in the requirements of the learning outcomes that fulfil the modules we are teaching.

Organising Assessment

Looking at the results of Russell 2010 Assessment Patterns: a review of the possible consequences Moving away from high stakes, end-of-process assessment as a foundation moving forward.

Currently formative assessment occurs in the MA Commercial Unit at very short intervals where upon small portfolios of work are delivered in a two-week timeframe, I will suggest that a longer timeframe is required, and more long form projects are desirable in allowing the students to develop their language and authorship. This would give an opportunity for students to develop self regulation skills in understanding the feedback and help their motivation

During this time more 1-1 tutorials are introduced as the projects develop and formative assessment can have a more defined impact leading to the summative assessment. This would give a further opportunity for students to develop self regulation skills in understanding the feedback in a different safe enviroment and help their motivation whilst also considering the role of the teacher who devises learning tasks and assessment criteria.

References

Studies in Higher Education Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t713445574 Assessment and student transformation: linking character and intellect Mark Barrow a Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

Pintrich and Zusho (2002) – Self-regulated learning is an active constructive process whereby learners set goals for their learning and monitor, regulate, and control their cognition, motivation, and behaviour, guided and constrained by their goals and the contextual features of the environment. (p. 64)

• Russell, M. (2010) University of Hertfordshire Assessment Patterns: A Review of the Possible Consequences. Available at: https://blogs.kcl.ac.uk/aflkings/files/2019/08/ESCAPE-AssessmentPatterns-ProgrammeView.pdf (Accessed: 13 March 2024)

Background

I co- teach a cross pathway module titled Collaborative Unit which encompasses MA Documentary, Fine Art and Commercial Photography courses.

The students collaborate with a referral unit for teenagers using Boxing at its foundation within the secondary school curriculum.In a lecture I introduced an examination of boxing stereotypes within photographic practice that occur across the pathways alongside that of portrayals of youth especially within geographical areas that are deemed ‘deprived”.

The students have diverse views on the notion of what is collaborative practice and what their outcomes would be within the context of their MA pathways

The challenge was to approach the module balancing the needs of the students both from the university and the school and their learning outcomes with my own bias coming from a similar background as the students at the Boxing Academy.

Evaluation

My approach has been to be present the opportunities of teaching and exchanging skills as a priority using examples of community based pedagogy analysing the evidenced benefits of meaningful community engagement with instruction and reflection. I has not been impartial on this as was reflected by a few of the students expressing actually whether the collaborative aspects of the exercises had been successful for both themselves and the students at the school and whether the hierarchy was actually still intact. Seeking guidance on this was retrospective from a more experienced colleague who had worked within community education.

Moving Forward

Setting up a forum for students to voice what they hope to achieve from the Collaborative Unit both professionally and personally rather than myself expressing purely what I think should be the outcomes.

Using the outcomes from the forum to make a list of deliverables that can both enhance my students experience and that of the collaborative partners.

The learning outcomes are not defined within the handbook , these I feel for the future need to be in place and adapted to balance the diverse needs of the students. Alongside this LCC has a community engagement mission , this could be enhanced by expanding its engagement across more diverse spaces where education is not followed through traditional pathways.

Peer Support

Here I need to seek guidance from experienced colleagues especially those involved within collaborative community practice for example in the MA Documentary Photography, Local NGO’s and Social Impact Departments with Commercial Agencies.

References

Boxing as Art

David Scott The Cambridge Quarterly, Volume 48, Issue 4, December 2019, Pages 303–323,

Strike Fast, Dance Lightly: Artists on Boxinghttps://gagosian.com/news/museum-exhibitions/strike-fast-dance-lightly-artists-on-boxing-norton-museum-of-art-west-palm-beach-florida/

Creating Chances: Arts Interventions in Pupil Referral Units and Learning Support Units Paperback – 9 Sept. 2004 

by  Richard Ings  (Author), Adrian Fisk  (Photographer)

Shah, R., Preston, A. and Dimova, E. (2023) ‘Making community-based learning and teaching happen: findings from an institutional study’. London Review of Education, 21 (1), 17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14324/LRE.21.1.17.

Introduction and Background

I am Senior Lecturer on the MA Commercial Photography 2024/25 course.

I joined in university initially to help cover a member of staff who had been unwell, I subsequently joined on a permanent contract. I have for the first time had the opportunity to deliver a full unit on the curriculum across a variety of briefs. Each brief challenges the students to adapt to multiple creative outcomes and experiment within their own practice. (MACP Course Handbook Attached)

Evaluation

My teaching practice is formed on the belief of not siloing commercial photography in its traditional sense for example Advertising and Fashion but to bring into the fore the importance of Fine Art and Editorial practice which is underpinned by personal work. Victor Mathieu Guy Moullin,(2017)

reflects on “how commercial photography creates codes that modify the perception of reality for commercial reasons whereas artistic photography designs an alternative world by revealing the invisible”

I believe that this impact on areas of engagement and understanding the tangible impact of personal authored practice that is necessary for the students in the future for preparing them for industry that bridges a divide between geographical regions brings excellence to their practice. I want to encourage diversity in the work they make that encompasses their personal backgrounds offering the students a creative, collaborative and cohesive learning experience that both challenges their perceptions of their work and builds confidence in them.

Moving Forward

Setting FMP Brief ( MACP Course Handbook attached )

Lectures in Person – In April 2025 in preparation for the Final Major Project (FMP) I will deliver the briefs using a “six degrees of separation “format using

Social media and Video platforms that have interviews with leading practitioners both in short and long form, tear sheets from magazines and advertising outputs from my own archived research.

For example, identify a photographer whose primary practice is fine art.

Showing their personal practice using their published books and exhibition installations. This will then lead into how the artist markets their work using “the shop window of editorial magazines “that provide a much wider audience especially the editorial outlets that the creative industry uses as benchmark spaces. From here I want to show how a fine art project is then translated into the commercial world. This would include all geographical regions.

Symposium

To support LO1, LO2 and LO3 I will develop a symposium about the multifaceted approaches used by practitioners, gallerists, curators, commissioners and agents which are applied across the various photography eco systems providing a research and practical skills emphasis for the students to have as a toolbox.

As part of the symposium an OBL activity will be introduced to the students.

A practitioner would bring in a series of objects from their books, work prints and portfolios

The students will be able to view, touch and interrogate display methods and how these communicate. https://imakebooks.cargo.site/Cait-Oppermann-Portfolio

Wales Bonner Publication see attached.

In Mida and Kim’s (2015) guide to object-based research, The Dress Detective, object centred research is about “learning to look” and promotes “slow looking” through a pathway described as observation, reflection and interpretation. 

1 to 1 Optional tutorial Online

A structure is already in place using Teams software as an extension of soft teaching, I will use my experience as practitioner in industry and

offer students support in professional development and research skills I employ across my practice that encompasses the cross cultural and commercial environment.

References

The Impact of Commercial and Artistic Photography on the Portrayal of Reality

Moullin, Victor Mathieu Guy, 2017

Mida I., Kim A. (2015). The dress detective: A practical guide to object-based research in fashion. Bloomsbury.

Using Social Media Platforms to Research and Expand Knowledge Base for Students

“Social media is an important part of young people’s lives in our connected society; however, its use in higher education is currently sporadic, localised, and not aligned with the large and growing literature relating to digital pedagogies. Despite its potential to increase students’ engagement, promote interaction between students and lecturers (Ong & Quek, 2023), and provide timely feedback (Demir, 2018), social media is yet to be fully harnessed as a learning tool in the sector. These disconnects between students’ daily habits and education represent a huge, opportunity.”Mehmet Demir, Research Fellow at University of Birmingham  1 Nov 2024https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/social-media-distraction-or-traction-in-higher-education

Emmet Gowin, the renowned Artist and Educator said in his final lecture to his Princeton class from the Gospel of St Thomas – “Know what is within your sight and what is hidden from you will be revealed.” Aperture Lecture https://vimeo.com/82197125

I am a fan of Emmet ! This fandom for Artists , Writers , Poets etc takes me on deep dives on Social Media, usually Instagram and You Tube. One is the appetiser the other the main meal.

I am a practitioner not an academic. My students are like most spend alot of time on social media platforms. They provide the instant hit. One of the challenges of photography education is a lack of interest in critical and contemporary history. This sometimes feels a geographical issue in Photography Education. Interacting with Students from both the USA and Europe there seems a vast divide from East and South Asia. This could be a culturally based around the foundation of a stable economic pathway where upon Art is secondary and Commercial is King.

During Studio based sessions I usually take a straw poll of my students when setting a brief and using professional photographers and artists as inspiration. In the whole I have found that there is a complete devoid of knowledge. This impacts on learning strategies for research based activities especially Work/ Sketch Books. How can I as an educator form an educational and practical based strategy that can help students in the current climate of social media.

One strategy is that I post on my Instagram account not just my work but exhibitions, videos of artists in short reels and then talk on a soft teaching basis. Sometimes in these non teaching spaces over lunch or a coffee conversations are had and screen grabs taken by the students. With intent I use these spaces which are relaxed and forment a conversation about my posts which invariably leads to outcomes of a positive nature.

Within a classroom I use social media and video platforms to show examples also providing a cheat sheet with all the necessary links.

I also set informal homework for students – small tasks they can do using social media as a research tool. I call it ” six degrees of separation” strategy. This allows a holistic and fun approach to the activity of research in the professional aspects of the industry.

Taking on what Mehmet Demir has developed – A taxonomy of social media for learning

Mehmet Demir, Research Fellow at University of Birmingham  1 Nov 2024https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/social-media-distraction-or-traction-in-higher-education

“TMSL is a framework that helps lecturers activate social media platforms as effective learning tools. It guides lecturers on how to integrate these platforms into subjects they teach and align social media resources with both physical and virtual environments. TMSL focuses on the metacognitive process, structured around three dimensions (the 3Cs): Consciousness (Viewing), Cognitive (Posting, Interacting and Analysing), and Creativity (Evaluating and Curating).”

I believe incorporating this strategy especially in Visual Arts and more so emphatically in Photography which is the universal language on social media that students can both flourish creatively but importantly become aware of the critical and contemporary history that underpins photography.