Archive of Modern Conflict (AMC) is an organisation and independent publisher based in

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that contains a street and public park of the same name. It has no official boundaries but is roughly bounded by Kensington High Street to the south, Holland Road ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. AMC was established in the early 1990s and maintains an archive of vernacular material relating to the

history of war Military history is the study of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to local and international relationships. Professional historians nor ...

, primarily photographs but also manuscripts and objects. Its material is acquired from a variety of sources both national and international, covering the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It has published numerous books, some of which have won awards, has curated exhibitions worldwide drawing upon its archive, and collaborated with artists.

The archive

The archive primarily contains photographs from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, both national and international, totalling some 4 million items of professional and amateur photography: snapshots and throwaways, amateur and anonymous, across eras and ages, media and material; discarded personal albums, press photos and entire photographic archives from defunct institutions and publications. It also contains regimental albums, postcards, posters and objects. The material comes from a variety of sources including auctions, fairs and street markets. The main archive is housed in Holland Park, London, but Archive of Modern Conflict also has archives in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

; and in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, through Thomas Sauvin. Its collection has been described as "eclectic and often deeply subversive" and an "eccentric range of photographs". In 2012, AMC acquired the Matthew R. Isenburg Collection of 20,000 items including

daguerreotypes Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...

, stereoviews, early cameras and other material at a cost of $15 million (US). This was the highest sum ever paid for a single hoard of 19th century photographic materials.

Staff and funding

Archive of Modern Conflict does not publish many details of its make-up, but various sources report that it is owned by and receives all its funding from Toronto art collector and billionaire

Baron Thomson of Fleet Baron Thomson of Fleet, of Northbridge in the City of Edinburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1964 for Roy Thomson, a Canadian-born newspaper magnate. He was succeeded in 1976 by his son, the second baron. , ...

, chairman of

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre. Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...

. Timothy Prus is its founder, an editor and curator; Edwin Jones is an editor; and James Welch is an editor, designer and archivist. Other staff include Kalev Erickson and Tony Cairns.

Publications (selected)

*''Nein, Onkel = No, Uncle: Snapshots from Another Front 1938–1945.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2007. Edited by Ed Jones and Timothy Prus. . A collection of photographs that recounts the daily lives of members of the Nazi military. *''Scrapbook.'' Göttingen: Steidl; London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2009. Edited by Donovan Wylie and Timothy Prus. . A freshly created scrapbook of material published during the Northern Irish "

troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

". *''Happy Tonite.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2010. Edited by Ed Jones and James Welch. . Edition of 1000 copies. Photographs selected by Ed Jones and James Welch from the collection of Chinese photography assembled by Thomas Sauvin. Includes the work of Liu YiQing, Cai Hongshuo, Chang He, Zeng Han, Yang Changhong, Bai Chuan, Dustin Shum, Chang Qing, Fang Er, Feng Li, Luo Dan and Jiang Yiming *''Holy Bible.'' By

Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin Adam Broomberg (born 1970) and Oliver Chanarin (born 1971) are artists living and working in London. Together they have had numerous international exhibitions. Their work is represented in major public and private collections. They were awarded th ...

. London: Mack; London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2013. (Later reprinted.) . Epilogue by

Adi Ophir Adi Ophir ( he, עדי אופיר; born September 22, 1951) is an Israeli philosopher. Early life Adi Ophir was born on September 22, 1951. He received his BA and MA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his PhD from Boston University. ...

. *''A Complete Examination of Middlesex.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2013. By

Bruce Gilden Bruce Gilden (born 1946) is an American street photographer. He is best known for his candid close-up photographs of people on the streets of New York City, using a flashgun. He has had various books of his work published, has received the Europea ...

. .The photographs can be see
here
within Gilden's website. *''Thomas Sauvin: Silvermine.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2013. . Five albums each containing 20 prints. Edition of 200 copies. *''Amc2 Journal''. **''Amc2 Journal Issue 1.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2011. **''Amc2 Journal Issue 2'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2012. **''Amc2 Journal Issue 3.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2012. **''Amc2 Journal Issue 4.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2012. **''Amc2 Journal Issue 5.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2013. Published to coincide with ''Notes Home'', an exhibition curated by Timothy Prus and Ed Jones for Format Festival 2013, Derby, England. **''Amc2 Journal Issue 6.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2013. Newspaper format. **''Amc2 Journal Issue 7.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2013. . **''Amc2 Journal Issue 8: Quanshen.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2013. Photographs collected and edited by Thomas Sauvin. **''Amc2 Journal Issue 9: Amore e Piombo: The Photography of Extremes in 1970s Italy.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2014. Published to accompany the exhibition ''Amore e Piombo: The Photography of Extremes in 1970s Italy,''

Brighton Photo Biennial Brighton Photo Biennial (BPB), now known as Photoworks Festival, is a month-long festival of photography in Brighton, England, produced by Photoworks. The festival began in 2003 and is often held in October. It plays host to curated exhibitions a ...

, 2014. **''Amc2 Journal Issue 10.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2014. Published to coincide with LagosPhoto 2014. **''Amc2 Journal Issue 11: A Guide for the Protection of the Public in Peacetime.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2014. Published to accompany Archive of Modern Conflict's contribution to the exhibition ''Conflict, Time, Photography'' at Tate Modern, London **''Amc2 Journal Issue 12: The Great Refusal.'' London: Archive of Modern Conflict, 2014.

Exhibitions contributed to or curated by AMC (selected)

*''Collected Shadows,''

Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada (MOCA), formerly known as the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), is a museum and art gallery in Toronto, Ontario. It is an independent, registered charitable organization. ...

, Toronto, 2 May – 3 June 2013. Curated by Timothy Prus and organised by Archive of Modern Conflict. *''The Great Refusal: Protesting 1948-1984,''

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the Roy ...

, London, 12 October 2013 – 5 January 2014. *''Amore e Piombo: The Photography of Extremes in 1970s Italy,''

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is a municipally-owned public museum and art gallery in the city of Brighton and Hove in the South East of England. It is part of the "Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton and Hove". It is free for local residents ...

, Brighton Photo Biennial, Brighton, England, 4 October – 2 November 2014. Co-commissioned by the Archive of Modern Conflict and

Photoworks Photoworks is a UK development agency dedicated to photography, based in Brighton, England and founded in 1995.

, curated by Roger Hargreaves and Federica Chiocchetti. *''A Guide for the Protection of the Public in Peacetime,'' part of ''Conflict, Time, Photography,''

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

, London, 26 November 2014 – 15 March 2015.

Awards

*2008: ''Nein, Onkel: Snapshots From Another Front 1938–1945'' edited by Ed Jones and Timothy Prus won Historical Book Prize,

Rencontres d'Arles The Rencontres d’Arles (formerly called ''Rencontres internationales de la photographie d’Arles'') is an annual summer photography festival founded in 1970 by the Arles photographer Lucien Clergue, the writer Michel Tournier and the historia ...

2008.Untitled overview of Rencontres d'Arles

. Accessed 3 January 2015. *2009: ''In History'' by

Susan Meiselas Susan Meiselas (born June 21, 1948) is an American documentary photographer. She has been associated with Magnum Photos since 1976 and been a full member since 1980. Currently she is the President of the Magnum Foundation. She is best known for h ...

won Historical Book Prize, Rencontres d'Arles 2009. *2011: ''Happy Tonite'' edited by Ed Jones and James Welch won 2011 Best Book Award, Dali International Photography Exhibition, Dali City, China.

Notes

References

External links

*{{Official website, amcbooks.com
Source magazine: “The Archive of Modern Conflict” (2012)
(video) Organizations with year of establishment missing Book publishing companies based in London Visual arts publishing companies English photography organisations Photographic collections and books War photography Holland Park