In celebration of the launch of the 6th issue of Unseen Magazine, our friends over at Unseen teamed up with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) to host a special event in London, May 17th 2019.

Running parallel to Photo London, Unseen presented a series of dialogues that focussed on urban change and the phenomenon of gentrification. The talk paired specialists in urban planning, including Dr. Alan Mace (Associate Professor of Urban Planning Studies LSE), Dr. Nancy Holman, (Associate Professor of Urban Planning, LSE) and artists working within the theme of gentrification explore the topic in depth, within the prestigious setting of LSE. As part of the conclusion, artist and writer Lewis Bush rounded off the discussions in conversation with artist Rhianne Clarke. All conversations shed light on the research conducted by photographers, the powerful communicative abilities of photography and the role of artists in society. Participating artists included Eva Sajovic, Max Colson, Felicity Hammond, and Rhianne Clarke. These dialogues differently explored the links between activism and the community, the topics of capital and forgotten knowledge and finally the themes of property and housing. The event exemplifies Unseen’s wider philosophy, which aims to highlight the impact of artists on society and to celebrate socially engaged practice. Unseen seeks to initiate conversations that focus on societal importance and feature contemporary photography both impacted by and able to influence such discourses. Another aspect of this mission involves sparking dialogues between leading artists working in the field of photography and other leading professionals in their field.

Eva Sajovic

Eva’s work focuses on socially engaged, participatory practice through which she explores the drivers of global displacement such as regeneration, poverty, trafficking, culture and climate change. Since 2006 Sajovic has been creating work in Elephant & Castle with people living and working in the area and collaborations with fellow artists.

Felicity Hammond

Felicity works across photography and installation. Fascinated by political contradictions within the urban landscape her work explores construction sites and obsolete built environments. In her short artist video, showcased at the talk (and on the Unseen Platform) Hammond states: “I think the absence of people is quite important. A lot of the work deals with loss, as well, and my own sense of loss in this particular landscape”

Max Colson

Max uses experimental digital architectural animation techniques to dramatize how specific locations and architectures can become vessels for conflicting points of view about identity, local community values and of society at large.

Rhianne Clark

Rhianne’s project “There’s Room Enough For Both of Us” is a sensitive and very personal portrait of the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It constitutes an important document of the changes the neighborhood in London is undergoing because of gentrification.

About Unseen

Unseen is the leading platform for contemporary photography. Exclusively focusing on what’s new in the photography world, Unseen is all about amplifying the careers of boundary-pushing artists. Providing a channel for both the emerging and the established to showcase their work, Unseen shares the stories of the world’s most exciting artists – the change makers of tomorrow. Be it in the magazine, online or during Unseen’s dynamic events, as a year-round platform, Unseen provides novel and experimental approaches to engage with photography and brings together the international photography community.