Photo London 2024 Talks | Thu 16 May

The 2024 Talks Programme promises a strong line-up of speakers for its ninth edition. Curated by Thames & Hudson, with contributions from Photo London partners Nikon and FT Weekend, this year is free of charge to ticket holders.

The popular Talks Programme provides listeners with unique insights from some of the world’s most exciting voices in the medium. Expect to hear lively talks, dynamic debates and in-depth discussions to broaden and deepen your understanding of photography.

Talks tickets do not include admission to the Fair. You must purchase a Day Pass ticket for the same day as the talk is taking place. Talks are in The Screening Room (South Wing via Embankment) and each event has a limited capacity, so we advise arriving five minutes before the scheduled start time to avoid disappointment. Please note that latecomers may only be admitted at the discretion of Visitor Experience staff in a suitable break.

14.00 - 15.00
SURREAL REALITIES: THE ARTISTRY OF RODNEY SMITH – LESLIE SMOLAN, SUSANNA BROWN, AND FRANCIS HODGSON IN CONVERSATION
How does photographer Rodney Smith blur the line between reality and fantasy? Executive Director of the Rodney Smith Estate, Leslie Smolan, and photography specialists Susanna Brown and Francis Hodgson discuss Smith’s career as a prominent fashion and landscape photographer, known for his unique combination of surrealism, style and wit.

15.30 - 16.30
Thames & Hudson presents: LEE MILLER: FROM ATTIC TO ARCHIVE
Antony Penrose and Ami Bouhassane, the son and granddaughter of photographer, model and war correspondent Lee Miller, discuss their journey collating Miller’s archive. The talk, followed by a Q&A, comes in anticipation of the 2024 release of the movie LEE, starring Kate Winslet.

17.00 - 18.00
Thames & Hudson presents: SAUL LEITER: DISCOVERY AND REDISCOVERY - DAVID CAMPANY IN COVERSATION WITH HOWARD GREENBERG
Saul Leiter (1923-2013) was an artist whose iconic fashion and lifestyle images defined the magazines of the second half of the 20th century, such as Esquire, Show, Harper’s Bazaar and Nova. In 1970, however, he unexpectedly quit fashion work and withdrew from any forms of public photography. He began to go through his archive and make prints. In 2006, his monograph Early Color received widespread acclaim, and as more books and exhibitions followed Leiter came to be seen as an important early pioneer of the art of colour photography. Writer and curator David Campany discusses Saul Leiter with gallerist Howard Greenberg, who has presented the artist's work since 1994.

18.30 - 19.30
Thames & Hudson presents: LOOK AT THE USA: PETER VAN AGTMAEL IN CONVERSATION WITH SEAN O’HAGAN
Magnum photographer and photojournalist Peter van Agtmael discusses his chronicling of post 9/11 America with journalist Sean O’Hagan. Fuelled by ideology, insecurity, ambition and a deep fascination with war, van Agtmael began documenting America’s war in Iraq in 2006, beginning a photographic odyssey that would span nearly two decades. His photography confronts the mythologizing of war and the seductive nature of conflict on the American psyche, with later images interrogating the imprints of nationalism, the election of Donald Trump, and race and class in American society. As the US prepares for yet another divisive election later this year, this talk will explore the evolution of the America we see today.