A Photographic Life - 251: Carolyn Mendelsohn

In episode 251 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed reflecting on the importance of magazine photography, finding subject matter, respecting popular culture and possibly the first ever touring exhibition of contemporary photography in the UK.

Plus this week, photographer Carolyn Mendelsohn takes on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer’s the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’

Carolyn Mendelsohn originally trained as an actor and director, before moving into filmmaking, and then photography. Her practice is rooted in telling stories and amplifying the voices of those who are not always heard. Mendelsohn is recognised for her portraits, including her portrait series and 2020 book, Being Inbetween, and is the founder of Through Our Lens, a workshop and mentoring programme that enables people to tell their stories through the medium of photography. Her work has been exhibited internationally, with solo and group exhibitions in national galleries across the UK and Europe, and has been published by the BBC, in The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, La Monde and the British Journal of Photography amongst many others. Mendelsohn’s awards include BJP Portrait of Britain 2017, 2019 and 2021, and she was the winner of the Single Image Award for Open Wall Arles.  She was the Finalist in the The Kuala Lumpa International Portrait Awards 2021, The Royal Photographic Society International Photography exhibitions RPS IPE 159 gold and finalist for RPS IPE 160. In 2020, Carolyn was named winner of the Portrait Series category for the 15th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards. She is the Artist in Residence for Born In Bradford and a Nikon Europe Ambassador and an Ambassador for the Royal Photographic Society. www.carolynmendelsohn.com

Dr. Grant Scott is the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). His film Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay was first screened in 2018 www.donotbendfilm.com. He is the presenter of the A Photographic Life and In Search of Bill Jay podcasts.

© Grant Scott 2023