Robert Powell Archive

The archive is comprised of Robert Powell's exhibition records and photography-related critical and journalistic writing.
Exhibition files, including correspondence and papers, research material, catalogues, posters, press coverage and publications for exhibitions Powell curated and/or coordinated, 1983-1990 (including 'The Birth of the Ark Royal' 1983-1986, 'Brunel's Kingdom - Photography and the Making of History 1984-1985', 'In the Wake of King Cotton', 'Behold the Man: the male nude in photography' at the Stills Gallery 1988-1990, 'Power Plays: Contemporary Photography from Canada' at the Stills Gallery 1989, and 'Anima Mundi: Still Life in Britain' at the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography curated by Martha Langford); exhibition posters collected by Powell from various galleries 1976-1989.
Research papers, including lecture notes and slides for lectures and talks delivered in Canada, Europe and the UK 1984-1990; papers as Photography Critic in Residence, Newcastle Polytechnic 1983-1984; papers relating to Manchester Studies, Local History Unit, Manchester Polytechnic 1980-1988; papers relating to research visits to Canada and the USA 1980-1988.
Files relating to individual photographers, on whose work Powell wrote and/or lectured, including: Fergus Bourke, David Chadwick, John Davies, Brian Griffin, Russell Lee, Daniel Meadows, Horace Nichols, Martin Parr, HP Robinson and Graham Smith 1980-1988.
Published articles and reviews and related material, including magazines containing articles and reviews written by, or relating to, Powell (including the British Journal of Photography) 1980-1993; photographic prints received from galleries and organisations whose exhibitions he reviewed in the 1980s; portraits of people he interviewed 1980-1986.

Robert Powell was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, and now lives in York. He is is a writer, curator, cultural manager and poet with over 40 years experience in the fields of literature, journalism, photography, the arts, the built environment and education in England, Canada and Scotland.
Starting out as a freelance writer, poet, journalist and curator based in Manchester, he became Director of Stills Gallery of Photography in Edinburgh from 1986-1989 and, back in Canada, was an Art Consultant with the Canada Council for the Arts from 1989-1997. From 1997-2015 he was Director of arts company and charity Beam (formerly Public Arts) based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
From 1981-1986, Robert was northern and special correspondent for the weekly British Journal of Photography, reviewing exhibitions and writing features in the UK - especially the North - and also in Canada, the USA, and France. He also wrote regularly for Amateur Photographer magazine. In 1983-1984 he was Photography Writer in Residence at Newcastle Polytechnic: there and elsewhere he organised public events and debates, and gave talks on photography in the UK and Europe.
During three years at Stills Gallery of Photography, Robert broadened the exhibition programme to embrace photography's wider social and cultural context as well as its role as an art form, and introduced an education programme to the gallery's work. Important Stills-originated exhibitions included work by Murdo McLeod, Fay Godwin, and Brian Griffin, 'Power Plays: Contemporary Canadian Photography', and 'Behold The Man: The Male Nude in Photography', as well as a programme of exhibitions for smaller and non-arts venues.
From 1989-1997, Robert worked for the Canada Council's innovative Art Bank programme, both in Ottawa and in cities across Canada, placing contemporary artworks in government and non-profit offices and public spaces. Continuing his creative writing, his poetry was published in a wide range of literary magazines, and he received an award from the Ontario Arts Council for the manuscript that eventually became his first poetry collection Harvest of Light.
As Director of Public Arts / Beam (1997-2015) he led and guided a number of key arts and place-making initiatives including the public art strategy for the north of England ('Welcome to the Northern Way', 2007); the creation of the regional People Making Places Programme with CABE (Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment) (2002-2009); Yorkshire Forward's ground-breaking Partnership Skills Programme of community regeneration leadership and training 2005-2009, in partnership with CIDA; the development of the visual arts strategy for the Yorkshire region (Turning Point); and the establishment of Wakefield LitFest: a Festival of Reading & Writing, in 2012, which combined a strong local and place-making approach with appearances by internationally-recognised writers including Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Tracy Chevalier, Jackie Kay and Will Self.
Robert has worked with many leading architects and designers including Thomas Heatherwick and Will Alsop, curated a wide range of art and photography exhibitions, and commissioned a range of major public art projects with artists including Richard Woods, Jan-Erik Andersson, Walter Jack, Jo Fairfax, John Newling, Myerscough & Morgan, Michael Pinsky, Tonkin Liu, and Nayan Kulkarni. In 2018 RIBA (The Royal Institute of British Architects) awarded him an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of his 'contribution to architecture in the widest sense'.
Robert was trustee and Chair of the UK's national Architecture & Built Environment Centre Network (2006-2012) and a member of the Yorkshire and North West Design Review Panel 2010-2016. In 2014-2015 he was appointed a member of the Expert Panel for Sir Terry Farrell's England-wide Review of Architecture and the Built Environment commissioned by then-DCMS Minister Ed Vaizey, and afterwards led on the national 'Arts and Place' initiative and the development of a national 'Manifesto for the Public Arts'. He is currently a Director on the board of York Explore, the mutual that manages the City of York's libraries, archives and reading cafes.
Robert has written and edited a number of books: Brunel's Kingdom: Photography and the Making of History (Watershed, 1985); Making Places: Working with Artists in the Public Realm; Public Arts, 2001; and People Making Places: Imagination in the Public Realm; Public Arts, 2004.
Robert's creative writing has been published widely in Canada and the UK. He has produced four books of poetry - Harvest of Light (2007), All (2015), A Small Box of River with artist Jake Attree (2016), Riverain (2018), and Aura (2018). 'The River Speaks', a short film co-created with Ben Pugh and funded by the Canal & River Trust 'Arts on the Waterways' programme, was produced to coincide with York Literature Festival in 2017.

Records are open to the public, subject to the overriding provisions of relevant legislation, including data protection laws.
24 hours’ notice is required to access photographic material.

The archive was deposited at the Borthwick Institute in June 2019 by Robert Powell.

Robert Powell was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, and now lives in York. He is is a writer, curator, cultural manager and poet with over 40 years experience in the fields of literature, journalism, photography, the arts, the built environment and education in England, Canada and Scotland.
Starting out as a freelance writer, poet, journalist and curator based in Manchester, he became Director of Stills Gallery of Photography in Edinburgh from 1986-1989 and, back in Canada, was an Art Consultant with the Canada Council for the Arts from 1989-1997. From 1997-2015 he was Director of arts company and charity Beam (formerly Public Arts) based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
From 1981-1986, Robert was northern and special correspondent for the weekly British Journal of Photography, reviewing exhibitions and writing features in the UK - especially the North - and also in Canada, the USA, and France. He also wrote regularly for Amateur Photographer magazine. In 1983-1984 he was Photography Writer in Residence at Newcastle Polytechnic: there and elsewhere he organised public events and debates, and gave talks on photography in the UK and Europe.
During three years at Stills Gallery of Photography, Robert broadened the exhibition programme to embrace photography's wider social and cultural context as well as its role as an art form, and introduced an education programme to the gallery's work. Important Stills-originated exhibitions included work by Murdo McLeod, Fay Godwin, and Brian Griffin, 'Power Plays: Contemporary Canadian Photography', and 'Behold The Man: The Male Nude in Photography', as well as a programme of exhibitions for smaller and non-arts venues.
From 1989-1997, Robert worked for the Canada Council's innovative Art Bank programme, both in Ottawa and in cities across Canada, placing contemporary artworks in government and non-profit offices and public spaces. Continuing his creative writing, his poetry was published in a wide range of literary magazines, and he received an award from the Ontario Arts Council for the manuscript that eventually became his first poetry collection Harvest of Light.
As Director of Public Arts / Beam (1997-2015) he led and guided a number of key arts and place-making initiatives including the public art strategy for the north of England ('Welcome to the Northern Way', 2007); the creation of the regional People Making Places Programme with CABE (Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment) (2002-2009); Yorkshire Forward's ground-breaking Partnership Skills Programme of community regeneration leadership and training 2005-2009, in partnership with CIDA; the development of the visual arts strategy for the Yorkshire region (Turning Point); and the establishment of Wakefield LitFest: a Festival of Reading & Writing, in 2012, which combined a strong local and place-making approach with appearances by internationally-recognised writers including Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, Tracy Chevalier, Jackie Kay and Will Self.
Robert has worked with many leading architects and designers including Thomas Heatherwick and Will Alsop, curated a wide range of art and photography exhibitions, and commissioned a range of major public art projects with artists including Richard Woods, Jan-Erik Andersson, Walter Jack, Jo Fairfax, John Newling, Myerscough & Morgan, Michael Pinsky, Tonkin Liu, and Nayan Kulkarni. In 2018 RIBA (The Royal Institute of British Architects) awarded him an Honorary Fellowship in recognition of his 'contribution to architecture in the widest sense'.
Robert was trustee and Chair of the UK's national Architecture & Built Environment Centre Network (2006-2012) and a member of the Yorkshire and North West Design Review Panel 2010-2016. In 2014-2015 he was appointed a member of the Expert Panel for Sir Terry Farrell's England-wide Review of Architecture and the Built Environment commissioned by then-DCMS Minister Ed Vaizey, and afterwards led on the national 'Arts and Place' initiative and the development of a national 'Manifesto for the Public Arts'. He is currently a Director on the board of York Explore, the mutual that manages the City of York's libraries, archives and reading cafes.
Robert has written and edited a number of books: Brunel's Kingdom: Photography and the Making of History (Watershed, 1985); Making Places: Working with Artists in the Public Realm; Public Arts, 2001; and People Making Places: Imagination in the Public Realm; Public Arts, 2004.
Robert's creative writing has been published widely in Canada and the UK. He has produced four books of poetry - Harvest of Light (2007), All (2015), A Small Box of River with artist Jake Attree (2016), Riverain (2018), and Aura (2018). 'The River Speaks', a short film co-created with Ben Pugh and funded by the Canal & River Trust 'Arts on the Waterways' programme, was produced to coincide with York Literature Festival in 2017.

http://www.rjpowell.org/
www.valleypressuk.com/author/37/robert__powell
Curriculum Vitae: Robert Powell

This material has not yet been catalogued. A typescript box list, prepared by the depositor, is available for consultation in the searchroom of the Borthwick Institute.

The archive includes photographs and 35mm slides. Access to slides may be restricted due to technical requirements, please contact the Borthwick Institute for more information.

Created by A. Jones 26.06.2019

A reprographics service is available to researchers. Copying will not be undertaken if there is any risk of damage to the document. Copies are supplied in accordance with the Borthwick Institute for Archives' terms and conditions for the supply of copies, and under provisions of any relevant copyright legislation. Robert Powell has assigned his copyright to the University, but this agreement does not extend to the works of other photographers represented in the archive. Permission to reproduce images of documents in the custody of the Borthwick Institute must be sought.

Published

GB 193