BCA Photographers Included in Touring Exhibition Facing Britain

A number of photographers connected with British Culture Archive were included in Facing Britain, the major touring exhibition exploring British documentary photography.

The exhibition first opened at Museum Goch in Germany in September 2020, with The Guardian featuring Facing Britain as part of its coverage of British documentary photography. Bringing together work by leading documentary photographers, Facing Britain placed post-war British photography in a wider international context, with a focus on everyday life, social change and the people who shaped modern Britain.

Among the photographers included were Tish Murtha and Rob Bremner, both of whom had featured in British Culture Archive’s debut exhibition in 2019. Their inclusion in Facing Britain marked part of a wider recognition of work that BCA had already been publishing, sharing and contextualising through its platform and exhibitions.

Before Facing Britain reached European museum audiences, British Culture Archive had been helping bring renewed attention to a number of photographers included in the exhibition. Their presence in the show reflects the wider cultural importance of this material and the growing recognition of British documentary photography outside the UK.

For BCA, the exhibition forms part of a broader story: work that was often overlooked, under-seen or held outside major institutions is now being recognised through museums, publishing, exhibitions and public collections.

British Culture Archive continues to work with photographers, archives and estates to make important documentary photography more visible, while protecting the value and context of the work.