Do you share photographs of your friends and family online?

‘Picture This: Marking 20 Years of Facebook & 120 Years of Photographs’, a free exhibition organised by Dr Claire Bessant from Northumbria Law School and open to all ages, will take place at the Bellingham Heritage Centre, Northumberland between the 7th and 17th of November.

Although we’ve taken photos for over a century, Facebook’s landmark 2004 launch led to us sharing thousands of pictures online.  Dr Bessant’s exhibition draws upon Bellingham Heritage Centre’s extensive photographic collection to delve into the history of photography and explores the implications social media and AI have for how we capture and share images now and in the future.  

Two evening events designed for an adult audience will run alongside the exhibition, taking place from 7pm on 9th and 16th November. Highlighting how photography has shaped personal and collective narratives over the past century, these sessions will incorporate short talks on the exhibition and Dr Bessant’s research, readings of stories written by Elsdon Writers Group which have been inspired by photographic portraits, and photography-based challenges and encourage attendees to ‘Take control of your story’. Whilst the evening events are free of charge, pre-booking is essential.

Commenting on the exhibition, Dr Bessant said: ‘Parents have always taken and shared photographs of their children.  With the introduction of social media, we have seen huge changes to the way we share photos and who can see our photos - it is harder than ever to keep hold of our own stories. For over a decade, I have been exploring how and why we share photographs and the potential impact our actions may have upon children’s privacy.  This exhibition explores why, in an age of social media and artificial intelligence (AI), we all need to think before we share our photos.’

This exhibition is part of the nationwide Being Human Festival, which celebrates the humanities with hundreds of free events across the UK, and has been made possible thanks to a grant of from the Ray Wind Fund CIC Community Benefit Fund. The fund has been established by energy company Vattenfall for the benefit of the communities hosting the Ray Windfarm.

For more information and to book a place on either of the evening events please visit:  https://www.beinghumanfestival.org/events/picture-20-years-facebook-120-years-photography

Being Human Festival: 7-16 November 2024.

Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, with generous support from Research England, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy, Being Human is a national celebration of humanities research. Returning for 2024 with the theme of ‘Landmarks’, the festival showcases how the humanities help us understand ourselves, our relationships with others and the challenges we face in a changing world. Since the festival was founded in 2014, Being Human has presented over 2,600 events in 161 towns and cities across the UK, for over 260,000 audience members. For more information please visit BeingHumanFestival.org or follow the festival on social media @BeingHumanFest.

Ray Wind Farm

The independent Ray Wind Fund CIC is responsible for managing the £250,000 a year Fund (index-linked) set up by European energy company Vattenfall, the operator of the wind farm.  The Fund will be in place until at least 2043. For more information please visit https://raywindfund.co.uk/ ; on X and Instagram media @RayWindFund and on Facebook @ Ray Wind Fund CIC Community Benefit Fund.