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Then Now Next - Sutton STEAMS Ahead

Then, Now, Next

Then, Now, Next aimed to improve residents' understanding of the science of photography, and add to the already significant photographic collections in The London Borough of Sutton’s Archives. By asking creatives, local schools and communities to generate contemporary imagery, this project worked to ensure future generations will have access in the archive to sources about life in Sutton now.

Projections

Four creatives are commissioned to create photographic based artworks, using STEAM themes to address one or more of the following ideas: Sutton’s STEAM History, Science in Sutton, Sutton of the Future.

Capture Sutton

Capture Sutton collected photos, solargram images and moving images from all corners of the borough to fill a gap in the local studies contemporary image collections and document how Sutton looks now, in 2023. The project began by asking residents to capture how Sutton celebrated the Coronation of King Charles III in May 2023, but beyond this asked residents to use photographic media to create and share connections between the historic lives, technologies and landscapes of the London Borough of Sutton and the present.

As one part of this project strand, we partnered with an expert tutor from Sutton College, offering residents and SEND participants the opportunity to learn smartphone camera skills, improving confidence to capture their own photographs while reflecting on and drawing inspiration from the historic photo collections in the London Borough of Sutton’s archives.

Portrait Commission

As part of ‘Then, Now, Next’, Sutton Heritage collaborated with professional photographic artist, Dave Shrimpton, to capture the stories and likenesses of up to five individuals using a Victorian camera and an historic wet collodion glass plate process. Winners of Sutton’s 2023 Community Awards were invited to sit for the photographer, on location in his mobile studio at Honeywood Museum, and their portraits were captured for the archive in a unique interaction that both reflects upon and creates a tangible link to an existing glass plate collection, by David Knights-Whittome already extant in the collection.

Cyanotype Workshops

Bringing together the science behind photography from Then, Now, Next, and the connection to the local environment of Lavender Fields Forever, the programme offered a series of workshops across the Borough to experiment with the Victorian technique of cyanotype. Cyanotype contact printing is a photographic process invented in 1841, which uses imagery exposed to UV light and rinsed in water to produce a beautiful photographic print in cyan blue and white. The team helped participants use flowers, leaves and other items to create their designs, arranging them on the specially coated paper before exposing them to sunlight. The process creates unique and beautiful artworks that develop in front of your eyes when the paper is then rinsed in water.

Related News

Then Now Next: Projections - Winning Bids Announced

In April 2023 it was announced that The London Borough of Sutton was on the lookout for 4 creatives to take part in an exciting new project and create a photographic based artwork. We are pleased to announce the 4 winning bids, and we asked each artist to give...

Who We Work With

Sutton STEAMs Ahead is an exploration of the incredible feats that become possible through the combination of science and art. In the same way, this programme has been made possible by combining the time and talents of many people. The collaborator profiles highlight some of the excellent individuals that have worked in the programme and the work they do.

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