Ken_Grant_(Bristol_Photobook_Festival,_2014)

Ken Grant is a photographer who since the 1980s has concentrated on working class life in the Liverpool area. He is a lecturer in the MFA photography course at the

University of Ulster sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

Life and career

Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in 1967,Sean O'Hagan,
Format international photography festival – review
. ''The Observer,'' 10 March 2013. Accessed 15 April 2014.Sarah Phillips,
Ken Grant's best photograph: A child on the Merseyside coast
, ''The Guardian'', 27 February 2013. Accessed 15 April 2014. Grant worked as a carpenter in Liverpool after finishing school,Brian Viner,

, ''The Independent'', 17 February 2013. Accessed 15 April 2014. even then taking photographs.Benjamin Tree,

, ASX, March 2013. Accessed 16 April 2014. He later studied at the

West Surrey College of Art and Design Surrey Institute of Art & Design, University College (SIAD) was an art college in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 2005. It was formed from the merger of West Surrey College of Art and Design (1969–1995) and Epsom School of Art and Design (1893� ...

, studying under

Martin Parr Martin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, satirical and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in p ...

and Paul Graham. Grant tends to work slowly, returning again and again to the same places and becoming a familiar sight to the people who gather there. ''The Close Season'' was published by

Dewi Lewis Dewi Lewis (born 10 March 1951) is a Welsh publisher and curator of photography. Career In 1975, Lewis was the founding director of the Bury Metropolitan Arts Association which operates the Met. Lewis also founded and was the first director of ...

over a decade after Grant had first met Lewis; the photographs in ''No Pain Whatsoever'' (whose title derives from a story by Richard Yates) were taken over a span of more than two decades. Writing in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'',

Sean O'Hagan Sean O'Hagan (born 1959) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and arranger who leads the avant-pop band the High Llamas, which he founded in 1992. He is also known for being one half of the songwriting duo (with Cathal Coughlan) in Microdisney and f ...

has described the ''No Pain Whatsoever'' seriesThe series is reproduce
here
within Grant's site. as "from the same great British tradition as the work of

Chris Killip Christopher David Killip (11 July 1946 – 13 October 2020) was a Manx photographer who worked at Harvard University from 1991 to 2017, as a Professor of Visual and Environmental Studies. Killip is known for his black and white images of people ...

and Graham Smith . . . a record of a time when working-class traditions were under threat from Thatcherism."A link to the article here on Smith is in O'Hagan's article at theguardian.com; a link there to Killip's website is changed here to a link to the article here on Killip. Writing in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'',

Brian Viner Brian Viner (born 25 October 1961, London) is an English journalist and author. Viner was born to an unmarried mother at the now demolished Royal Northern Hospital, London, and was adopted by a couple in Southport, Merseyside when a few weeks old ...

said "The photographs . . . show Grant's wonderfully keen eye for the humdrum realities of everyday working-class – or more accurately, unemployed – existence in the 1980s and beyond . . . It is the instinct of the social documentarian, and Grant deserves to rank alongside the better-known Martin Parr as one of the best." Diane Smyth, writing in the ''

British Journal of Photography The ''British Journal of Photography'' (BJP) is a magazine about photography, published by 1854 Media. It includes in-depth articles, profiles of photographers, analyses, and technological reviews. History The magazine was established in Liverpo ...

'' about Grant's book ''Flock'' said "Grant avoids making easy statements in favour of simple observation. Even so, by recording these everyday working lives, he's made a series that matters." As influences and inspirations, Grant has cited

Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s. Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mi ...

, Fred Voss,

Terence Davies Terence Davies (born 10 November 1945) is an English screenwriter, film director, and novelist, seen by many critics as one of the greatest British filmmakers of his times. He is best known as the writer and director of autobiographical films ...

Christer Strömholm Christer Strömholm (July 22, 1918 – January 11, 2002), also known by the pseudonym Christer Christian, was a Swedish photographer and educator. He is known for his intimate black and white street photography portrait series, particularly his p ...

, Bruce Davidson, and

Gil Scott-Heron Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...

. Grant was the course leader of the BA (Hons) Documentary Photography course at the

University of Wales, Newport The University of Wales, Newport ( cy, Prifysgol Cymru, Casnewydd), was a university based in Newport, South Wales, before the merger that formed the University of South Wales in April 2013. The university had two campuses in Newport, Caerleon ...

between 1998 and 2013, when he became a lecturer in the MFA Photography course at the

Collections

Museum Folkwang Museum Folkwang is a major collection of 19th- and 20th-century art in Essen, Germany. The museum was established in 1922 by merging the Essener Kunstmuseum, which was founded in 1906, and the private Folkwang Museum of the collector and patr ...

, Essen.Ken Grant
, European Prospects. Accessed 15 April 2014. *

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, New York. *Hereford Archive Service, Hereford, England.The Birdhouse
,

. Accessed 5 July 2014.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

*''The Close Season'', The Gallery of Photography, Dublin, 2003. *''No Pain Whatsoever'', Déda Gallery, Format International Photography Festival, Derby, 2013. *''Everton Photographs 1985—2000'', Liverpool International Photography Festival, Beaconsfield Community Centre, Everton, 2013. *''Ken Grant Photographs: The Stevie Bell Invitation Edit'', Liverpool International Photography Festival, Beaconsfield Community Centre, Everton, 2013. *''Flock'',

Third Floor Gallery Third Floor Gallery was an independent charitable photography gallery in Cardiff Bay, Wales. It opened in 2010 and predominantly featured documentary photography, often premiering new work with the direct involvement of the photographers. It clo ...

, Cardiff, 2014.

Joint exhibitions

*''Nothing is in the Place.'' Photographs of the 1990s by AVI, Anonymous (Value Action), Donald Christie, Vicki Churchill, Brett Dee, Nigel Dickinson, Chris Dyer, Jason Evans,

Anna Fox Anna Fox (born 1961) is a British documentary photographer, known for a "combative, highly charged use of flash and colour". In 2019 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society. Career and work Fox completed her degr ...

, Ken Grant, Nick Knight, Mark Lally, Clive Landen, Gordon MacDonald,

Vinca Petersen Vinca Petersen (born 1973) is a British photographer and artist, living on the Isle of Skye.https://edelassanti.com/usr/library/documents/main/vinca-petersen-cv-2022.pdf Her photography book ''No System'' documents her life in the 1990s, travelli ...

Mark Power Mark Power (born 1959) is a British photographer. He is a member of Magnum Photos and Professor of Photography in The Faculty of Arts and Architecture at the University of Brighton.Paul Reas Paul Reas (born 1955) is a British social documentary photographer and university lecturer. He is best known for photographing consumerism in Britain in the 1980s and 1990s. Reas has produced the books ''I Can Help'' (1988), ''Flogging a Dead ...

, Richard Sawdon-Smith, Helen Sear,

Paul Seawright Paul Seawright (born 1965) is a Northern Irish artist. He is the professor of photography and the Deputy Vice Chancellor (previously Executive Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Belfast School of Art) at Ulster University in Belf ...

Nigel Shafran Nigel Shafran (born 1964) is a photographerLiz Jobey,Photographer Nigel Shafran: domestic harmony" The Guardian, 23 October 2008. and artist. His work has been exhibited at Tate and the Victoria and Albert Museum. In the 1980s Shafran worked as a ...

Wolfgang Tillmans Wolfgang Tillmans (born 16 August 1968) is a German photographer. His diverse body of work is distinguished by observation of his surroundings and an ongoing investigation of the photographic medium’s foundations. Tillmans was the first photog ...

Nick Waplington Nick Waplington (born 1965) is a British artist and photographer. Many books of Waplington's work have been published, both self-published and through Aperture, Cornerhouse, Mack, Phaidon, and Trolley. His work has been shown in solo exhibition ...

, Jack Webb, Tom Wood, and Dan Wootton; curated by Jason Evans. Gallery of Contemporary Art Bunkier Sztuki, Photomonth in Kraków, 2010. Fringe Focus. The Old Co-Op Building, Brighton. *''Wirral Pride of Place Project'', Caravan Gallery, New Brighton, 2013. With Tom Wood and Martin Parr. *''Champs-contre-champs: Les Visages de la ruralité'', Gwinzegal, France, 2013. With Remy Artiges, Dalila Ingold,

Dorothea Lange Dorothea Lange (born Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn; May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965) was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lange' ...

, Andrew Lichtenstein, Carlos Javier Ortiz, Pierre Pedelmas, Andy Sewell,

W. Eugene Smith William Eugene Smith (December 30, 1918 – October 15, 1978) was an American photojournalist.Peacock, Scot. "W(illiam) Eugene Smith." ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, 2003. ''Biography In Context'' He has been described as "perhaps the si ...

and

Anthony Suau Anthony Suau is an American photojournalist and documentary filmmaker, based in New York City. Life and work Suau was born in Peoria, Illinois. He worked for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', and ''The Denver Post'', was a contract photographer for ''Tim ...

. *''I See Europe: A Visual Journey in Various Chapters,'' Stuttgart Fotosommer 2013, Kunstbezirk Galerie im Gustav-Siegle-Haus Stuttgart. Works by Arnis Balčus, Katharina Gaenssler, Julian Germain, Ken Grant, Martin Kollar, Geraldine Lay, Eva Leitolf, Frederic Lezmi, Søren Lose, Andreas Meichsner, James Morris, Marcella Müller, Krzysztof Pacholak, Jordis Antonia Schlösser, Volker Schrank, Corinne Silva, Laurenz Theinert, Remigijus Treigys, and Arturas Valiauga. *''Ken Grant / Louis Quail / Kajal Nisha Patel / Moira Lovell,'' Street Level Photo Works, Glasgow, 2013. Grant showed work from ''No pain whatsoever''. *''Country Matters'', James Hyman Gallery, London, September–November 2013. Photographs by Grant, Anna Fox,

Bert Hardy Albert William Thomas Hardy (19 May 1913 – 3 July 1995) was an English documentary and press photographer known for his work published in the ''Picture Post'' magazine between 1941 and 1957. Life and work Born in Blackfriars, Bert Hardy rose ...

, Colin Jones, Roger Mayne,

Tony Ray-Jones Tony Ray-Jones (7 June 1941 – 13 March 1972) was an English photographer. Life Born Holroyd Anthony Ray-Jones in Wells, Somerset, he was the youngest son of Raymond Ray-Jones (1886–1942), a painter and etcher who died when Tony was ...

Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen (born 1948) is a Finnish photographer who has worked in Britain since the 1960s.Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen (ed. Andrew Pulver),Photographer Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen's best shot, ''The Guardian,'' 12 August 2009. Accessed 11 Nove ...

, Martin Parr, Mark Power, and

Homer Sykes Homer Warwick Sykes (born 1949) is a Canadian-born British documentary photographer whose career has included personal projects and landscape photography. Early life and education Sykes's father, Homer Warwick Sykes, was a Canadian-born American ...

Exhibitions at festivals

*''The Birdhouse,'' various venues in Hereford, Hereford Photography Festival, England, 2012.

Exhibitions as curator

*''Condition Report: New Photographic Art from the Czech Republic.''

Ffotogallery Ffotogallery is the national development agency for photography in Wales. It was established in 1978 and since June 2019 has been based in Cathays, Cardiff. It also commissions touring exhibitions nationally and internationally. Its current dire ...

(Cardiff) 2010; Hoopers Gallery (London), 2011. Photographs by Kateřina Držková, Jan Měřička, Zdeněk Květoň, Radek Květoň, Vojtěch Fröhlich, and Tereza Příhodová. *''Double Take: Photographs from the Keith Medley Archive'',

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

, Liverpool, 2013. Photographs by Keith Medley, curated for an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool by Grant and Mark Durden.

Books

Photobooks by Grant

*''The Close Season.'' Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2002. . With a story by

James Kelman James Kelman (born 9 June 1946) is a Scottish novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist. His novel '' A Disaffection'' was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction in 1989. Kelman won ...

("It's the ins and the outs", from '' The Burn'').Dewi Lewis's page about ''The Close Season'' i
here
*''The Birdhouse.'' Commissioned by the

Elmley Foundation Madresfield Court is a country house in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. The home of the Lygon family for nearly six centuries, it has never been sold and has passed only by inheritance since the 12th century; a line of unbroken family ownership ...

and in association with the

Edgar Street Grid The Edgar Street Grid is a redevelopment project in the north of Hereford, England, estimated to cost almost £1 billion and intended to restore the city as a key shopping and business destination in the region. Work was expected to start ...

partnership, 2013. Edition of 500. Large magazine format. Looks at the people and the birds who inhabit a poultry market in Hereford.The series is reproduce
here
within Grant's site. *''Shankly One.'' Southport:

Café Royal A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...

, 2013. Edition of 200. Later reprinted.Café Royal Books' page about ''Shankly One'' i
here
. *''Shankly Two.'' Southport: Café Royal, 2013. Edition of 200. Later reprinted.Café Royal Books' page about ''Shankly Two'' i
here
*''One Day in July near Cable Street Southport.'' Southport: Café Royal, 2013. Edition of 200. Later reprinted.Café Royal Books' page about ''One Day in July near Cable Street Southport'' i
here
*''From the Provy to the Derry.'' Southport: Café Royal, 2013. Edition of 200. Later reprinted.Café Royal Books' page about ''From the Provy to the Derry'' i
here
*''No Pain Whatsoever.'' Stockholm: Journal, 2014. . Edition of 1000. *''Flock.'' Dublin: Artist Photo Books, 2014. . Edition of 750.APB's page about ''Flock'', as archived by the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

on 8 April 2016, i
here
*''A Topical Times for These Times: A Book of Liverpool Football.'' Bristol: RRB, 2016. . Edition of 1000 copies. With an essay by

Niall Griffiths Niall Griffiths (born 1966) is an English author of novels and short stories, set predominantly in Wales. His works include two novels ''Grits'' and ''Sheepshagger'', and his 2003 publication ''Stump'' which won the Wales Book of the Year award. ...

and a short text by Grant.For samples, see
When Saturday came: The city of Liverpool captured through its love of football – in pictures
, ''The Guardian'', 22 August 2016.RRB's sales page for ''A Topical Times for These Times'' i
here
*''Benny Profane.'' Bristol: RRB, 2019. . Edition of 500 copies.RRB's page about ''Benny Profane'' i
here

Other publications

*''Condition Report: New Photographic Art from the Czech Republic.'' Cardiff: Ffotogallery, 2010. . Includes interviews by Grant, Helen Sear, and Ian Walker. * ''From Talbot to Fox. 150 Years of British Social Photography.'' London: James Hyman, 2012. Edition of 50. An overview of British social photography published to accompany an exhibition by James Hyman Photography at The AIPAD Photography Show New York in 2011. Includes photographs by

William Henry Fox Talbot William Henry Fox Talbot FRS FRSE FRAS (; 11 February 180017 September 1877) was an English scientist, inventor, and photography pioneer who invented the salted paper and calotype processes, precursors to photographic processes of the later ...

David Octavius Hill David Octavius Hill (20 May 1802 – 17 May 1870) was a Scottish painter, photographer and arts activist. He formed Hill & Adamson studio with the engineer and photographer Robert Adamson between 1843 and 1847 to pioneer many aspects of pho ...

& Robert Adamson,

Roger Fenton Roger Fenton (28 March 1819 – 8 August 1869) was a British photographer, noted as one of the first war photographers. Fenton was born into a Lancashire merchant family. After graduating from London with an Arts degree, he became interested i ...

Horatio Ross Horatio Ross (5 September 1801 – 6 December 1886) was a celebrated sportsman and a pioneer amateur photographer. Background and early life Ross was born at Rossie Castle, near Montrose, Angus on 5 September 1801, the son of Hercules Ross, ...

Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron (''née'' Pattle; 11 June 1815 – 26 January 1879) was a British photographer who is considered one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. She is known for her soft-focus close-ups of famous Victorian m ...

Thomas Annan Thomas Annan (1829–1887) was a Scottish photographer, notable for being the first to record the bad housing conditions of the poor. Biography Born in Dairsie, Fife he was one of seven children of John Annan, a flax spinner. Career After ...

Bill Brandt Bill Brandt (born Hermann Wilhelm Brandt; 2 May 1904 – 20 December 1983)Paul DelanyBill Brandt: A Life was a British photographer and photojournalist. Born in Germany, Brandt moved to England, where he became known for his images of British ...

Roger Mayne Roger Mayne (5 May 1929 – 7 June 2014) was an English photographer, best known for his documentation of the children of Southam Street, London. Life and work Born in Cambridge, Mayne studied Chemistry at Balliol College, Oxford University. Her ...

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...

Caroline Coon Caroline Coon (born 1945) is an English artist, journalist and political activist. Her artwork often explores sexual themes from a Feminism, feminist standpoint. Coon had her first solo painting exhibition at The Gallery Liverpool entitled "Carol ...

Paul Reas Paul Reas (born 1955) is a British social documentary photographer and university lecturer. He is best known for photographing consumerism in Britain in the 1980s and 1990s. Reas has produced the books ''I Can Help'' (1988), ''Flogging a Dead ...

Jem Southam Jem Southam (born 1950) is a British landscape photographer and educator. He has had solo exhibitions at Tate St Ives, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Lowry, and the Royal West of England Academy. Southam's work is held in the collections of t ...

, Ken Grant, Karen Knorr,

and others. *''Double Take: Portraits from the Keith Medley Archive.'' Liverpool: Liverpool John Moores University Archives, 2013. . Edition of 500. *''European Prospects: Visual Explorations in an Undiscovered Continent.'' Cardiff: Ffotogallery, 2013. .European Prospects
, Photoireland.org. Accessed 22 April 2014.

Notes

References

External links

Grant's website

. James Hyman. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Ken Photographers from Liverpool Social documentary photographers Living people Engineers from Liverpool 1967 births Alumni of the University for the Creative Arts Academics of the University of Wales, Newport Academics of Ulster University Photography academics