Anand Chhabra was commissioned by the Living Memory project ( Arts Council Funded) to work in Dudley to find partners and to develop arts work in line with the Living Memory’s project's purpose in the Black Country. Developing work with partners Dudley College, Anand started workshops with 2nd year photo students around the digital Apna Heritage Archive conducting a presentation & showing the students the importance of working in collaboration in order to establish a project like this. In order to inspire the students further and impact them through a subject matter that is not taught currently at the college the subjects of vernacular images and digitisation practices, Anand invited Dr Gil Pasternak, Associate Professor of Social and Political Photographic Cultures and Programme Leader of MA in Photographic History at De Montfort University in Leicester. Between 2018 and 2021 Dr Pasternak is Project Leader of a major European Commission funded research programme called “Digital Heritage in Cultural Conflicts” and he has been an inspirational figure for BCVA, providing fantastic input and helping shape the future of the AH archive. In mutual agreement between Dudley College, Anand & Gil Pasternak & for mutual reasons for doing so, Dr Pasternak came to teach on the History of Family Photography to around 50 students at Dudley College followed by another visit to University of Wolverhampton (BCVA partners) where Dr Pasternak talked about the uses of photography in conflict areas around the world past and present and with reference to changes brought about by digital technologies. The result was an awesome masterclass presentation at both venues. All images © Anand Chhabra.
Dr Gil Pasternak begins his lecture to around 50 students at Dudley College on the history of family photographs and the uses of family images.
Dr Pasternak starts with the origins of family photography ‘Cartes de Visite’ in early photography.
What people do with their family photographs.
Students work in small groups, discussing their own historical family images among themselves and with Dr Pasternak.
Dr Pasternak at University of Wolverhampton presents the history of photography in areas of conflict and their uses.
Various slides on conflict areas and how photography is preserved and used in the past and present, also with reference to digitisation practices, digital platforms and their impact.
