Looking at Ourselves: Student Work

In the spring of 2024, we piloted a new interdisciplinary venture: an intensive four-day course that combined an in-depth look at the history and theory of portrait photography with a hands-on engagement with this vital cultural practice. This course is named: Looking at Ourselves: a Historical and Practical Exploration of Portrait Photography and was co-written and delivered by noted photographer Alistair Morrison and art historian Dr Tim Satterthwaite. In classroom, gallery and archival sessions, students encountered photographic portraiture from its origins to the present day.  This historical context then provided food for thought for their own work, which they made and curated under Alistair Morrison’s guidance. We are grateful to Alistair and Tim for providing a stimulating and supportive learning environment in which our students’ creativity could take flight.  To take part in the course, no previous experience of photography is required. While our students had varying degrees of familiarity with the medium, they have all produced accomplished and intriguing artwork, a small selection of which you can see in the galleries below.

This course’s success meant that it ran again in 2025, and will be running once more in April 2026. For more information on the 2026 course and to book your place click here