This summer, Side will host _Co-Authored Narratives_, a symposium exploring collective authorship approaches to film and photography as a distinctive artistic practice embedded in the North of England (and across other areas of the UK) - highlighting it as a globally relevant method for social and cultural engagement.

  
Drawing inspiration from pioneering models such as the _Amber Film & Photography Collective_, whose decades-long practice defined how stories are told _with_ communities rather than _about_ them in the North East of England - the symposium will focus on how co-authorship creates space for new perspectives, particularly those often overlooked in mainstream art and media.

  
We’re calling for presentations on artistic and documentary methods that prioritise shared narratives, emotional truth, and long-term engagement over detached observation. This includes work in both photography and docudrama film, where creative collaboration and long-term social engagement are used to produce emotionally resonant and authentic representations of lived experience.

  
We welcome proposals from artists, researchers, curators, educators, and collectives working across disciplines. Presentations may take the form of artistic research, community projects, films, installations, or provocations. We particularly encourage voices from working-class, post-industrial, and regional backgrounds, and those exploring how creative collaboration can speak to contemporary issues - from climate justice to inequality.

  
This is an opportunity to come together, reflect on methods of making that centre care, trust, and collaboration - and consider how these practices can shape the future of socially engaged art.

Will pay an honorarium of £150 per paper/presentation for selected participants joining us who are not from research funded institutions/educational establishments/museums or collections. If you are selected to present, you’ll also receive a free ticket to the symposium. After the symposium Side will be creating a newspaper style publication which includes papers and presentations from across the day. All speakers will receive a copy of this publication free of charge.

  

Add

Side Gallery

Opportunities

For Artists

ArtConnect

Support