The Photographers' Gallery

Profil

Our building on Ramillies Street is now closed to the public until early 2012. We are transforming our building, creating new galleries and an education space.

The Photographers' Gallery was founded by Sue Davies, OBE in 1971 at 8 Great Newport Street, in a converted Lyon's Tea Bar. It was the first independent gallery in Britain devoted to photography. Tom Hopkinson, ex-editor of Picture Post, was appointed as the first chair of the Gallery's Board of Trustees.

The Gallery opened its doors on 14 January 1971, presenting an exhibition called The Concerned Photographer curated by Cornell Capa and first shown in New York in 1967.

In 1980 the Gallery extended into a new gallery space at 5 Great Newport Street.

As the UK's primary venue for contemporary photography The Photographers' Gallery has been instrumental in establishing photography as a serious art form internationally.

The Gallery was the first public gallery in the country to exhibit key names in international photography, such as Juergen Teller (fashion), Robert Capa (photojournalism), Sebastião Salgado (documentary) and Andreas Gursky (contemporary art), and has been instrumental in establishing contemporary British photographers including Martin Parr and Corinne Day.

One of Europe's most visited galleries dedicated to photography, The Photographers' Gallery produces the high-profile annual £30,000 International Photography Prize. Past prize winners include Andreas Gursky (1998), Juergen Teller (2003), Robert Adams (2006), Esko Männikkö (2008) and Paul Graham (2009).