Joanna L. Cresswell is a writer, researcher and editor based in Brighton, UK. She has written extensively on art, literature and culture for over 40 international magazines, websites, journals and institutions including The Financial Times, The British Journal of Photography, Aperture, Magnum Photos and more. She has also curated live events and projects at cultural organisations such as The Photographers' Gallery and The Whitechapel Gallery, and edited a number of publications including Unseen Amsterdam's Unseen Magazine, Self Publish, Be Happy: A DIY PhotoBookManual and Manifesto and Aperture's PhotoBook Review. Previously holding titles including managing editor at the curatorial project Self, Publish, Be Happy, editor of Unseen Magazine, and content editor at The Photographers' Gallery, Joanna now works on a freelance basis as an independent writer and editor. Joanna holds a BA (Hons) in Photography from the University of Brighton, and an MA in Comparative Literature and Criticism from Goldsmiths College, University of London.
Alessia Glaviano is the Head of Global PhotoVogue and Director of the PhotoVogue Festival. Glaviano is a leading figure in the panorama of international photographic criticism. In 2011 Glaviano launched PhotoVogue, an innovative platform on which users can share their own photographs knowing they can rely on the curatorial supervision of professional photo editors. Now in its 12th year, counting over 300,000 photographers, from amateurs to professionals, hailing from all over the world, the PhotoVogue platform relaunched in early 2022 to expand globally as well as to soon include media in all forms. The mission of PhotoVogue has always been, and will continue to be, to champion talent, both emerging and established, and influence visual literacy to help shape a more just, ethical, and inclusive visual world. In an expanded role, Alessia Glaviano is guiding PhotoVogue into this next phase and continues leading its creative direction. In her 20-plus years with Condé Nast, in addition to launching and overseeing PhotoVogue, Alessia has also driven select special events and curated exhibitions in prestigious museums and institutions with some of the most important artists of our times; developed Vogue Italia’s Instagram strategy; curated a series of Masters of Photography video interviews; and led the art direction of numerous digital branded-content projects, such as Gucci beauty's iconic story featuring Ellie Goldstein. Besides the editorial activity, Alessia holds lectures and conferences on a regular basis. Some of the institutes and universities she was invited as guest lecturer include: University of Brighton, Central Saint Martins, IED, Bocconi University and the Milan Polytechnic. Glaviano was invited to participate as jury member in numerous internationally acclaimed photography contests including the World Press Photo, the Festival International de Mode et de Photographie à Hyères and the Leica Oskar Barnack Award; and has participated in several portfolio review sessions, including the “New York Times Portfolio Reviews”.
Caroline Hunter is an award-winning picture editor for The Guardian’s Saturday magazine. Over the course of the last twenty years Caroline has worked with some of the most prominent names in photography and served as a jury member for a number of leading international photography competitions, including World Press Photo. She has also acted as a nominator for the prestigious Deutsche Borse Photography Foundation Prize and the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, and in 2019 & 2020 she was awarded Picture Editor of the year by the British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME) Talent awards.
Professor Steven Macleod is an award winning Creative Director and artist and has been at the forefront of photographic imaging for thirty years, collaborating with a vast network of clients he has also developed several innovative photographic printing practices. He is a Director at Metro Imaging. The company is one of Europe’s leading imaging companies with a global reach offering a comprehensive solution for exhibition and collecting markets. He is a practicing artist, represented by Black Box Projects. He regularly exhibits and his works are held in both private and public institutions. He is also a commissioned artist for the Hospital Rooms Arts mental health charity. Steve is a Visiting Professor at the University of Suffolk; Trustee and Deputy Chair of QEST and E E at RGU Aberdeen. He runs an established mentorship programme and is a regular judge on international panels.
Tracy Marshall-Grant is an Arts Director, Curator & Producer specializing in the production of photography exhibitions, festivals, education, and archive projects. She has recently been Deputy Director of the new Centre for British Photography and Director of Development for the Royal Photographic Society. Previously she directed the inaugural Bristol Photo Festival and LOOK Photo Biennial 2019 in Liverpool. Tracy has also been Director of Development at Open Eye Gallery Liverpool and Executive Director at Belfast Exposed Gallery. Tracy is also co-founder and Director of Northern Narratives, the non-venue-based photography production company specializing in archive exhibitions and long-term archive development projects. Amongst the productions within this she has developed a large international tour and publication of Martin Parr’s Irish work- currently touring museums and galleries in Ireland and America until 2023. She has worked with Marketa Luskacova, Jem Southam, Café Royal Books and RRB Publications on several archive books and exhibition productions. Tracy is co-curator and co-editor of the international touring exhibition and associated monograph Chris Killip: retrospective with The Photographers Gallery, London and Thames and Hudson publishers. She is also Director of Liverpool Photographer Ken Grant’s Archive. Tracy is associate and guest lecturer on professional practice for the BA and MA photography courses at several universities in the UK. She is a selector on the Royal West Academy Photography Open, the Royal Photographic Society Women in Photography Bursary and a judge for a number of Awards including British Journal of Photography Portrait of Britain and Photo London Student Photography Award.
Ben is an experienced, london-based media multi-hyphenate - a podcast host and freelance producer, writer, website developer, and documentary photographer. He divides his time primarily between pursuing personal, long-term photography projects, teaching, designing and hosting and producing his own popular photography podcast, A Small Voice: Conversations With Photographers. The podcast features intimate one-to-one chats about life, work and the creative process with a diverse range of exceptional photographers from young and emerging talents to some of the world’s most well-known and acclaimed practitioners.
Rosie Wadey, Founder of Companion Artists Ltd, is a senior photography agent and commercial photography consultant, with 12 years of experience helping to build successful careers for photographers working in a diverse range of categories and markets. After many years spent stewarding careers at agencies Making Pictures, East Photographic, and Wren Artists, Rosie set up her eponymous consulting business in January 2021 and went on to develop the concept for a new type of artist management agency, launching Companion Artists Ltd in June 2022. The Companion model is designed to make access to professional support possible for artists at all stages of their careers, and all Companion artists are motivated by a common goal to use photography to spark contemporary debate, or further social and environmental progress. Rosie’s ethos is rooted in championing creative practice, with an intuitive understanding of both the contemporary commercial and artistic photography landscapes that drives her to seek commissions that are in line with an artist's personal goals, values, and interests. Rosie is also an active member of the photography teaching and mentoring community, as both a Visiting Practitioner for MA Commercial Photography at London College of Communication, and a long-term mentor on University of the Arts London’s Professional Mentorship programme. Outside of the university framework, in 2020 Rosie set up a long-term mentoring programme for emerging and early career photographers at East Photographic. She has run portfolio workshops and guest lectures at London College of Communication, Norwich University of the Arts, London Southbank University, University of Gloucestershire, and University of West London.