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The Centre for Contemporary Photography Is Celebrating Its Thirtieth Birthday with a Blockbuster Show

We chat to the CCP's director about how Australian photography has changed over time.
Christian Thompson's Ellipse (2014) will be one of the works on sale at the fundraiser show. All images courtesy of the Centre of Contemporary Photography

The Centre for Contemporary Photography, one of Australia’s leading photographic art galleries, is turning thirty this week. To celebrate, the CCP is hosting a blockbuster fundraiser exhibition, featuring the work of over seventy artists. It’s an opportunity to reflect upon the changing dynamics of Australian contemporary photography—and pick up some bargains in the process.

Speaking to The Creators Project, Director Naomi Cass says that over thirty years, the gallery has witnessed a total restructuring of what it means to take a photo and exhibit it.

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“The CCP was started by a bunch of writers and artists and photographers who felt photography wasn’t gaining as much focus as it should,” Cass explains. “People thought of it as a craft, or something to do with science or advertising. It wasn’t thought of or respected as an art form.”

Gabriella and Silvana Mangano, There is no there (2016) (Video still)

Now, of course, photography is ubiquitous. “The jump from analog to digital is really enormous. Ordinary people don’t need to access a dark room, or hone that set of skills.”

“Photography is everywhere. It’s part of personal communication. In the past there was the master photographer with super expensive equipment, but now many people have access to incredibly good cameras, just attached to their telephones.”

These changes are more political than you'd think. Once, photography was accessible only to an elite. These days, everyone keeps a camera in their pocket. “So as a medium it is extremely democratic and accessible. That’s why it’s such an exciting field to work in and to curate—it’s so embedded in contemporary culture.”

Kelly Borland, Pupa XIX (2012)

Everyone might be addicted to Instagram, but analogue photo-taking has experienced a resurgence too. “A lot of young people are exploring the dark room now,” Cass notes. “And cameraless photography— that’s exposing photosensitive paper to light. Or using other kinds of machines like a photocopier or a scanner…the technology has gone forward and backwards at the same time.”

The fundraiser show will reflect this contradiction. “We’ve got a bit of everything, from photograms to giclee prints, right through to video and GIF works. The show does tell a story about how inventive photography is, even though it’s ubiquitous and everywhere…a really great work of art requires passion, invention, a great idea, and I think that a visitor to the show will really get a sense of that—what an exciting domain it is,” Cass tells us.

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Darren Sylvester, Dreams End With You (2014)

With photographs priced between $150 and $8000, the fundraiser is accessible to most—even though it features some big names. The proceeds will help fund the next thirty years of what, as Cass points out, is an invaluable institution for artists, the general public, and those interested in arts careers. “It’s a great place for people to come and be a volunteer and it’s a really great training ground for people who want to work in the arts. Even lots of artists come and volunteer with us,” she says.

“There’s such a sense of love and respect and engagement in our community. A sense of trust, that when an artist gives us their work we’ll do our very best for them and we’ll install in a way that brings their work to life, brings it to new communities.”

“You might be standing next to someone you’ve never seen or heard of before, but you’re both there standing humbly looking at something. A public gallery is a really special place.”

The Centre for Contemporary Photography’s 30 Years Fundraiser Exhibition opens on Thursday July 21 and continues until July 30 at 404 George Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne. You can find out more here.

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