Art / st Pauls carnival
Arnolfini and Martin Parr Foundation collaborate with St Paul’s Carnival
This year’s St Paul’s Carnival looks set to be one of the best-documented in its 51-year history. That’s thanks to a three-way collaboration with Arnolfini and the Martin Parr Foundation, which will see a group of photographers on the street documenting the festivities, with their work exhibited at Arnolfini from the following week.
The group will be led by leading street photographer Matt Stuart; Bristol-based Lua Ribeira, a Nominee member of Magnum Photos and joint winner of the 2018 Jerwood/Photoworks Award; and Martin Parr, the Bristol-based, world-renowned documentary photographer.
Stuart will share his tips and techniques with the group, which includes photographers from the St Paul’s community itself, before they descend on Carnival for a day (and night) of snapping on July 6.
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St Paul’s Carnival, Bristol, England, 2009 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
All the images taken at Carnival will be reviewed and edited the next day at the Martin Parr Foundation. The best photographs will be processed and printed in a pop-up studio in the Arnolfini galleries, open to the public and sponsored by Epson and Wex Photo Video. Visitors can try and spot themselves in the images, as well as watching the whole process of turning digital files into photographs being installed on the walls.
Throughout the course of the week the exhibition will evolve each day, before the final selection and installation is unveiled at the opening party, on Friday 12 July, just six days after Carnival: the exhibition will then run until August 11.
St Paul’s Carnival, Bristol, England, 2018 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Carnivalgoers themselves can be part of the exhibition by tagging any images they have taken during the celebrations with #CarnivalPopUp19 on Instagram. The opening party will feature live music, costumes and dancing, promising to take us back to Carnival.
“Summer in Bristol is just one festival after another, but for me the St Paul’s Carnival has to be one of the best,” Martin Parr reflects.
“It is full of energy and, after the parade itself, people are chilling out, drinking, dancing and generally having a great time. The fact that it was revived last year after being dormant also has to be celebrated.
St Paul’s Carnival, Bristol, England, 2018 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
“It also brings the crowds to St Paul’s, one of Bristol’s most diverse and distinctive neighbourhoods. The cherry on the cake is that it is free to all, and everyone is welcome.”
And what will Martin and his fellow selectors be looking for when choosing the images that make the final exhibition? “That’s easy. We want images that capture the atmosphere and energy of this amazing event.”
St Paul’s Carnival 2019 takes place on July 6 / Arnolfini pop-up studio runs from July 9-12 / Exhibition opening party July 12, 6pm / Exhibition runs until August 11. For more information, visit www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/photography-carnival-pop-up
Main photo: Windrush Boat, St Pauls’ Carnival, Bristol, England, 2018 © Martin Parr / Magnum Photos
Read more: Preview: Care and Control, The Galleries
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