‘A Day in Your Life’ Photography Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, 5th – 9th October 2022
Founded by BAFTA and multi-award-winning artist Alison Jackson and sponsored by Cadogan, ‘A Day in Your Life’ is a photography competition and exhibition focused on discovering new talent from budding and aspiring photographers, inspiring hundreds of children from the local community across Kensington and Chelsea and beyond.
Images, clockwise from top left: Noor Alyassviy, Amanda Hall, Pearson Anglin, Noel Heaney
The competition is open to everyone aged 7+, encouraging entrants to capture a day in their life, from the ordinary to the extraordinary and exploring a breadth of topics from the mundane to the momentous.
Alison comments “Everyone should have a chance to shine. I started this photography competition to help cultivate, celebrate and create opportunity for undiscovered talent who may not have had the chance before – or believed they could. I was offered my first BBC award-winning TV series when I was fresh out of college in Chelsea, so I have made the prizes primarily educational and vocational, with a fantastic network of leading artists, arts organisations and businesses.
There are many extremely talented people out there, and I want to provide a platform to discover new talent and fresh ways of seeing. This is about finding and letting flourish our future creatives; transforming their dreams into careers and opportunities that they are passionate about. Displaying aspiring photographers’ work at the world-famous Saatchi Gallery, this exhibition speaks to the importance of creatively empowering our youth and helping everyone discover the artist within.”
Hugh Seaborn, Chief Executive of Cadogan, adds “Cadogan is proud to sponsor such an impactful community project which offers life-changing opportunities to hundreds of aspiring young photographers and artists across the local neighbourhood – Alison cares deeply and while the competition is open to all, she focuses on directly reaching those who would not usually have this kind of privileged access to leading artists, arts organisations and mentors. A Day in Your Life has the power to change lives and uncover the creative visionaries of the future, opening doors for young people to high quality education and paid work in the creative industries.”
The Competition aims to nurture young generations of artists and photographers on a large scale, many of who have never held a professional camera before. In addition to an open call for entries, hundreds of children attend studio workshops in youth centres, community centres, trusts and schools. These are headed by Alison Jackson, supported by a team of top postgraduate professionals who teach photography and related skills, such as directing and styling, along with the history of the discipline and techniques from portraiture and fashion to documentary and location photography. A pop-up flash studio helps to capture that split second of a moment in life. She adds “It has been such an eye-opening experience to teach wonderfully talented, creative young people. To witness first-hand how hungry and eager young people are to work with the big cameras, explore imagination, and learn photography is absolutely fantastic”.
Eleven categories are judged by an eminent panel from the arts, business and entertainment worlds with strong local links, this year including writer and broadcaster Sir Trevor Phillips; photographer, publisher and film director Rankin; musician, singer and producer Nick Rhodes; artist Dr Chila Kumari Singh Burman; Sotheby’s Director of Photography Brandei Estates and award-winning photojournalist Peter Dench.
Prizes feature camera equipment, memberships, mentorships, apprenticeships and educational courses at internationally recognised institutions such as The University of Arts, London; The Royal College of Art and Heatherley’s College of Art.
Winning photographs will be exhibited at Saatchi Gallery from 5th – 9th October (free entry, no booking necessary) and select photographs will also be available for sale on Saatchi Art Online.
Generously supported by Principal sponsor Cadogan along with the K&C Foundation, Young K&C, Saatchi Gallery, UAL, Chelsea society and SIA.