Photographing Aesthetica Art Prize 20 Across North Yorkshire
It was a pleasure to photograph a series of exhibitions for North Yorkshire Council and Aesthetica Magazine, documenting the 20th anniversary of the Aesthetica Art Prize across three of North Yorkshire's cultural venues.
The project took me to Skipton Town Hall, Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate and Scarborough Art Gallery, photographing the exhibitions as they came together and, just as importantly, capturing the people experiencing the work.
Aesthetica Art Prize 20 brought together 50 contemporary artists across four North Yorkshire venues, with each exhibition exploring a different aspect of contemporary practice. The project marked two decades of the Aesthetica Art Prize and included painting, photography, sculpture, video, mixed media and immersive installation.
Skipton Town Hall
The first part of the project took me to Skipton Town Hall, where I photographed the installation and press images ahead of the opening, followed by the preview evening.
The exhibition, Future(s), explored questions around contemporary society, hidden structures and underrepresented narratives. The exhibition opened at Skipton Town Hall on 25 April
Press image showing the exhibition within Skipton Town Hall
For the press photography, the aim was to create images that communicated the scale and character of the exhibition while giving a sense of the architecture of the venue.
But once visitors arrived, the photography became much more about the relationship between people and artwork.
Visitors stopping to look at individual pieces, discussing the work and moving through the exhibition provided a very different perspective.
These photographs help show the exhibition as a living public space rather than simply a collection of individual artworks.
Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate
The project then moved to Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate for the second part of the exhibition.
Perception opened at Mercer Art Gallery on 2 May and formed the second chapter of the wider Aesthetica Art Prize 20 programme.
The architecture and character of each venue gave the photography a slightly different feel, while the consistent element throughout the project was the audience.
Rather than photographing visitors simply as people standing in a gallery, I wanted to capture those moments when they were genuinely engaged with the work — looking closely, stepping back, talking about an installation or simply taking a moment to absorb what they were seeing.
For an exhibition, those images can be just as useful as straightforward artwork photographs when it comes to communicating the atmosphere of an event.
Scarborough Art Gallery
The final part of the project took me to Scarborough Art Gallery for Intervention.
The exhibition brought together artists whose work explores history, tradition and culture, inviting audiences to reconsider familiar narratives and perspectives. It opened on 16 May and runs until 19 September 2026.
Scarborough Art Gallery provided another distinctive setting for the work, with the historic gallery creating a strong backdrop for the contemporary pieces.
Again, the focus was not just on recording what was on the walls.
It was about documenting the experience of the exhibition.
People looking. People talking. People discovering something unexpected.
These photographs provide a record of how the exhibitions were experienced by the public and create a visual sense of the atmosphere that a simple artwork catalogue cannot provide.
Photographing exhibitions for press, publicity and social media
Projects like this require more than simply photographing the artwork.
The images need to work across a range of uses — from press releases and editorial coverage to websites, social media, promotional material and archive photography.
That means photographing the exhibition from several perspectives:
Contemporary art across North Yorkshire
One of the things I particularly enjoyed about this commission was seeing how the same overall project could take on a different character in each venue.
From Skipton Town Hall to Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate and Scarborough Art Gallery, the exhibitions created a fascinating combination of contemporary art, historic spaces and public engagement.
For me, the most interesting photographs are often the ones where those three elements come together — the artwork, the architecture and the people experiencing it.
Interested in exhibition, gallery or cultural event photography?
I provide professional photography for exhibitions, galleries, cultural organisations, arts events and venues across Yorkshire and the UK.
Whether you need press photography, exhibition documentation, event coverage or images for social media and marketing, I can create a collection of photographs that shows both the work itself and the experience of being there.
Based in Harrogate | Working across Yorkshire and the UK
CONTACT / ENQUIRE
The project took me to Skipton Town Hall, Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate and Scarborough Art Gallery, photographing the exhibitions as they came together and, just as importantly, capturing the people experiencing the work.
Aesthetica Art Prize 20 brought together 50 contemporary artists across four North Yorkshire venues, with each exhibition exploring a different aspect of contemporary practice. The project marked two decades of the Aesthetica Art Prize and included painting, photography, sculpture, video, mixed media and immersive installation.
Skipton Town Hall
The first part of the project took me to Skipton Town Hall, where I photographed the installation and press images ahead of the opening, followed by the preview evening.
The exhibition, Future(s), explored questions around contemporary society, hidden structures and underrepresented narratives. The exhibition opened at Skipton Town Hall on 25 April
Press image showing the exhibition within Skipton Town Hall
For the press photography, the aim was to create images that communicated the scale and character of the exhibition while giving a sense of the architecture of the venue.
But once visitors arrived, the photography became much more about the relationship between people and artwork.
Visitors stopping to look at individual pieces, discussing the work and moving through the exhibition provided a very different perspective.
These photographs help show the exhibition as a living public space rather than simply a collection of individual artworks.
Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate
The project then moved to Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate for the second part of the exhibition.
Perception opened at Mercer Art Gallery on 2 May and formed the second chapter of the wider Aesthetica Art Prize 20 programme.
The architecture and character of each venue gave the photography a slightly different feel, while the consistent element throughout the project was the audience.
Rather than photographing visitors simply as people standing in a gallery, I wanted to capture those moments when they were genuinely engaged with the work — looking closely, stepping back, talking about an installation or simply taking a moment to absorb what they were seeing.
For an exhibition, those images can be just as useful as straightforward artwork photographs when it comes to communicating the atmosphere of an event.
Scarborough Art Gallery
The final part of the project took me to Scarborough Art Gallery for Intervention.
The exhibition brought together artists whose work explores history, tradition and culture, inviting audiences to reconsider familiar narratives and perspectives. It opened on 16 May and runs until 19 September 2026.
Scarborough Art Gallery provided another distinctive setting for the work, with the historic gallery creating a strong backdrop for the contemporary pieces.
Again, the focus was not just on recording what was on the walls.
It was about documenting the experience of the exhibition.
People looking. People talking. People discovering something unexpected.
These photographs provide a record of how the exhibitions were experienced by the public and create a visual sense of the atmosphere that a simple artwork catalogue cannot provide.
Photographing exhibitions for press, publicity and social media
Projects like this require more than simply photographing the artwork.
The images need to work across a range of uses — from press releases and editorial coverage to websites, social media, promotional material and archive photography.
That means photographing the exhibition from several perspectives:
- Strong press and publicity images
- Individual artworks and installations
- Wide views showing the exhibition within the venue
- Visitors engaging with the work
- Preview and opening events
- Details that help convey the atmosphere of the exhibition
Contemporary art across North Yorkshire
One of the things I particularly enjoyed about this commission was seeing how the same overall project could take on a different character in each venue.
From Skipton Town Hall to Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate and Scarborough Art Gallery, the exhibitions created a fascinating combination of contemporary art, historic spaces and public engagement.
For me, the most interesting photographs are often the ones where those three elements come together — the artwork, the architecture and the people experiencing it.
Interested in exhibition, gallery or cultural event photography?
I provide professional photography for exhibitions, galleries, cultural organisations, arts events and venues across Yorkshire and the UK.
Whether you need press photography, exhibition documentation, event coverage or images for social media and marketing, I can create a collection of photographs that shows both the work itself and the experience of being there.
Based in Harrogate | Working across Yorkshire and the UK
CONTACT / ENQUIRE