LONDON.- The Martin Parr Foundation are launching a membership scheme to support the Foundation whilst simultaneously increasing access to, and building a community around the Foundation’s work. Three tiers of membership are available with benefits ranging from invitations to private views, priority booking for events, an exclusive signed print, and a portrait session with Martin Parr.
The Martin Parr Foundation was established in 2014 and opened to the public in an architect-designed space in Bristol last year. Nearly 10,000 people are estimated to have visited the Foundation in its inaugural year to view exhibitions by Martin Parr, Niall McDiarmid, Paul Trevor and David Hurn’s ‘Swaps’, and to attend often sold-out events including a seminar day and talks by international photographers such as Don McCullin, Susan Meiselas, Michael Christopher Brown, Siân Davey, Simon Roberts, Bieke Depoorter and Peter Bialobrzeski. The Foundation aims to keep exhibitions free to all and at a time when engagement with photography is increasingly in the digital realm, the Foundation has established a committed and enthusiastic community both on a local level in the artistic quarter of Paintworks, Bristol, and through its national and international visitors.
The Martin Parr Foundation houses a significant collection of post-war documentary photography relating to the British Isles, both prints and book maquettes, including works by Keith Arnatt, Richard Billingham, Elaine Constantine, John Davies, Paul Graham, Ken Grant, John Hinde, Chris Killip, Karen Knorr, Peter Mitchell, Tony Ray-Jones, Paul Reas, Simon Roberts, Graham Smith, Tom Wood and Eamonn Doyle. Since opening the Foundation has acquired work by Markéta Luskačová, David Hoffman, Clémentine Schneidermann, Julian Germain, Stephen Gill and Gilles Peress. The membership scheme will contribute to expanding this collection further, supporting overlooked and emerging photographers.
The three tiers of membership are:
Foundation membership £35
Invitations to private views | Welcome tour of the foundation | Priority booking for photobook library | Access to exclusive membership events | 10% shop discount
Supporter membership £125
All Foundation Benefits + an exclusive, signed 10 x 8 inch print each year (the first print will be pictured in the release mailout) | Foundation tour with Martin Parr | First access to discounted tickets
Patron Membership £750
All supporter Benefits + Your portrait taken by Martin Parr | Annual patrons dinner with Martin Parr | First access to special events
The forward programme at the Foundation includes exhibitions by Document Scotland and Clémentine Schneidermann, and approximately two events each month including talks by Bruce Gilden, Paul Trevor, Robert Darch, Dan Wood, John Myers and Krass Clement. Over the forthcoming year, exclusive member events with Alec Soth, Eamonn Doyle, Cristina de Middel and Niall McDiarmid are planned as well as workshops across the British Isles.
