Kraszna-Krausz Photography Book Award Symposium - Onsite

The Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards recognise creativity and rigour within the publishing industry, selecting books for their attention to content, quality and presentation. This year’s Award has been presented to authors Russet Lederman & Olga Yatskevich of 10×10 Photobooks, for their seminal new anthology “What They Saw: Historical Photobooks by Women, 1843-1999”.

“What They Saw: Historical Photobooks by Women, 1843-1999” sheds light on photobooks created by women from diverse backgrounds and addresses the glaring gaps and omissions in current photobook history—in particular, the lack of access, support and funding for non-Western women and women of colour. The book is beautifully illustrated with photographs of classic bound books, portfolios, personal albums, unpublished books, zines and scrapbooks, ranging from well-known publications to the more obscure.

Join us for a series of presentations which will focus on the development of the book, its collaborative approach, and its significance within photobook history. The authors will be joined by several contributors to their anthology, including Erika Lederman who will discuss the publications of the V&A’s own professional photographer, Isabel Agnes Cowper, and Bieke Depoorter.

The event will close with a presentation from artist Rhiannon Adam, whose complex book “Big Fence / Pitcairn Island” (Blow Up Press) is based on her dark personal experience staying on Pitcairn, an isolated volcanic island in the south-central Pacific Ocean. Adam’s book was longlisted for the Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards alongside an overwhelmingly female led line up including Deana Lawson, Bieke Depoorter, Doris Derby and Tarrah Krajnak.

Whilst this event and content is curated for adults, we welcome parents and young children. We will also be live streaming on Microsoft Teams, if you are unable to attend or access the Museum. To find out more please follow the link here.

Approximate schedule:
4pm – 7pm presentations
7pm – 8pm drinks reception