Girl Power Film // Impressions Gallery

 

As a member of new focus, we get the opportunities to develop projects that relate to the current exhibition at Impressions Gallery. The short film Girl Power has been inspired by the photographic series 'Being Inbetween' by Carolyn Mendelsohn. Carolyn's series 'Being Inbetween' is a collection of portraits of girls aged between 10 and 12, exploring the complex transition between childhood and young adulthood. 

The film takes us behind the scenes of the photographs to meet three of the girls to hear their personal stories of hopes, fears and aspirations. The video introduces you to three inspirational girls; Alice, Amaira and Kiara.  

Meeting Alice

Each of the Girls we filmed was able to chose a location which they wanted to be filmed in. Alice aspires to become an author so picked Haworth as her filming location due to its link with the Brontë Sisters. I was on the filming team this day so was able to travel to Haworth and see Girl Power filming in progress. My role in the day was taking behind the scenes photos of Alice being filmed which a few can be seen below. Alice surprised us all with her confidence in front of the camera and listening to her story and the answers she gave to our questions were both beautiful and inspirational. Well Done Alice!

Editing over Zoom

Another part of the film consisted of Carolyn talking about her work and the process of meeting the girls. Although I didn't film this, I was part of the editing process of this section of the film. Editing over zoom meetings brings its own challenges however, we managed to edit the footage down into a concise summary of the work. I edited the film with Jennifer and Sarah. First we watched the film, working out bits that can be cut and essential clips that needed to be left in. Once we had done this, we needed to work out where in the film we could layover the images of the girls and where we needed to fill in space with photographs of the exhibition. A couple of hours passed and the editing was complete. 

Online exhibition opening and the launch of Girl Power 

Carolyns Exhibition launch was online, and it was also a showcase of our Girl Power Film to the public. The launch was on YouTube and was a great success! 

To view the full exhibition online, click here.

To watch Girl Power, the short film by New Focus, click here.

Girl Power is funded by @bradfordmdc @bradford_unesco and @bradford_2025  as part of their #MakeFilm programme, and supported by @aceagrams

 

Special thanks to Carolyn for introducing us to these amazing girls. #Bradford2025 #BeingInBetween

Bradford Family Archive // New Focus at Impressions Gallery

This project was developed by New Focus, Impressions Gallery's young peoples collective. 

During lockdown New Focus asked the people of Bradford to share family stories and photos via Facebook and Instagram to become part of an online archive. New Focus collected over sixty photographs and created a short film to highlight some of the stories uncovered.

The film takes us back in time, sparking memories of places forgotten, with photographs dating back to the early 1900s. Highlights include images of Bradford's Iconic locations... Local heroes include Lilian Armitage, a suffragette and the first secretary of the Women's Social and Political Union in Bradford. The film also reveals journeys to Bradford, with contributions from members of Community Works Nani Ji group (a social group for older Asian Women). 

To view the final film, follow the link below:

https://www.impressions-gallery.com/resource/bradford-family-archive/ 

Forget Me Not Project // New Focus at Impressions Gallery

As part of the group New Focus at Impressions Gallery, This allowed me to be part of a new project with them called Forget Me Not. This was inspired by the recent Arpita Shah 'Nalini' exhibition which explored her family history. This inspired us to explore our family histories that we would then curate together to go alongside the exhibition at the gallery. It was also going to be showcased on the big screen in City Park.

After we had all found an image and object that reflected our family in some way, we then had a day booked to spend in the photography studio at Bradford College. This allowed us to photograph our chosen object, photo and also a portrait of us alongside these stories.

Below are my own photos that was taken as part of the project:

Due to Covid-19 and the national lockdown the launch was unfortunately cancelled. However, we launched the video online over on impressions gallery site. We also was able to do a twitter Q and A.

 The video can be viewed here.

Impressions Gallery // Exhibition Installation (3)

Installing... Arpita Shah - Nalini

This week saw the take down of Christopher Nunns Work and the installation of the new exhibition by Arpita Shah. Like last time, I volunteered 4/5 days of the exhibition week. Mon, Wed, Thurs and Fri and was able to experience the different stages of the installation.


Monday / This was a day of taking work down. We took down Christopher Nunn's work, quality checked them and them wrapped them up ready for them to be stored. This was relatively easy to wrap as the work was in extremely light frames and all the same size. Nevertheless there was a lot and it was also unprotected (no glass) so we had to wrap them together and place tissue paper and foam between each print to ensure they were protected.


Wednesday / This day started with finishing off the painting in the gallery. One wall needed to be painted a light blue and there were plinths that were needed again so these also needed repainting. We also needed to dismantle previous plinths that were no longer needed and build up a table and bench set for the reading corner within the gallery.


Thursday /  Today, we started to unwrap the work. This is a part of the week, I find the most exciting. Especially as I didn't know what to expect. I had seen one image from the exhibition and read the description on the impressions gallery website but a part from this I had no idea about the project. From unwrapping the work, there were a variety of different images. Many of them was large scale frames which we unwrapped and placed carefully around the gallery. Towards the end of the day Angela and Anne came in and curated the show which again is a part of the installation week I find the most valuable.

Friday /  Today, the work began to be hung on the wall. As this was a touring exhibition, some of the plinths had be transported and needed repainting again so I did this. Arpita also had a large scale Taj Mahal on one of the walls which again, was an interesting addition to the gallery space and to the project itself.

Photograd PGZ2019 // Work Feature

My series 'Everything looks the same in that Place' produced as part of my Masters has been selected to be part of the Photograd Zine 2019!


Preview of my pages below! To see more of the project head over to my website

https://daniellagott.co.uk/everything-looks-the-same-in-that-place

Impressions Gallery // Exhibition Installation (2)

Installing: Christopher Nunn - Borderland: Stories from Donbas


Back at impressions volunteering with the set up of the next exhibition. This time I was able to spend 4 days in the week at the gallery so was able to experience various stages of changing the exhibition.

Day 1
Monday / This was the first day of the installation week. This is a day where we take the work from the previous exhibition down. Once we had taken an image down, we then had to fill in the condition report on any visible damage if we found any. After this we then carried on with wrapping the work up so that it could be stored safely.


Day 2
Wednesday / This day started off with finishing the remainder of the painting from the day before. Once this was complete then we was able to tidy up and start unwrapping the new work. We unwrapped all the work and laid it out around the gallery ready for the curator and artist to come in to curate the exhibition tomorrow.

Day 3
Thursday / This was a really interesting day and one that I didn't get to experience at the last installation. With all the work laid out around the gallery, today was time for the show to be curated. Christopher Nunn and Anne (Curator at Impressions) came in the gallery, along with us and started to put the show together. This involved a lot of moving the work around until we had a layout that was working. This was a valuable experience in being able to see how a show is curated and all the different elements that have to be considered to make the show a success to the viewers.

Day 4
Friday / Now the show has been curated, this was the day in which it needed hanging. Dom was in to do this and I assisted him. This was useful in which Dom had talked me through how he hangs the work and the different tips he uses along the way.

Impressions Gallery // Exhibition Installation (1)

Installing... Mandy Barker: Our Plastic Ocean 

 

This week saw the end of the 'Africa State of Mind' exhibition at Impressions. As a member of the New Focus group there, I got the opportunity to help with the taking down of the exhibition. I haven't done anything like this since my Graduate Show last year so was great being back in a gallery space. 

We started the week by taking the work down. The exhibition is touring so we had to wrap it all up ready to be sent away to the next gallery. The next few days was spent prepping the gallery with paint, moving temporary walls and cleaning it ready for the delivery of the next show. Unfortunately, I wasn't there for this as I kept some space in the week to focus on Uni work as deadlines are slowly approaching. 

However, I was back to the Gallery on Friday which was installation day. Today, we finished off the last of the painting. Since the last exhibition had different colours on a few walls, these had to be repainted white, and also we added in a black wall as you walk in the gallery. 

Then we unwrapped the new exhibition which was very exciting to physically see the work. Once unwrapped, the artworks were placed up against the wall so that we could see the layout and if anything needed to be moved around before putting it on the wall. 

Impressions have a little book shop so since it was the end of my time helping out (and they had a little sale) I had a look. An hour later after browsing all the books, I left with two. I bought my all time favourite book by Julian Germain which I have be wanting for a long time. And also picked up 'Colorblind Sands' by Sebastien Reuze which originally caught my eye by the bright yellow cover, however after having a look, its such an interesting series of images. 

The exhibition is open from 28th June. Mandy Barker presents her work 'Our Plastic Ocean' which addresses the global crisis of marine plastic pollution. Read more about the exhibition here.  

Gif Experiments - Digital Media Processes

Gott, D. (2019). Gif 1 . [Gif]

Gott, D. (2019). Gif 2 . [Gif]

Gott, D. (2019). Gif 3 . [Gif]

Gott, D. (2019). Gif 4 . [Gif]

Gott, D. (2019). Gif 5 . [Gif]

Gott, D. (2019). Gif 6 . [Gif]

Gott, D. (2019). Gif 7 . [Gif]

Shooting with the Sony A7

So this week, I borrowed the Sony A7iii from University and instantly loved it. After a spontaneous photoshoot with my dogs, I've got a beautiful collection of images and a new camera on my wish list.
This will definitely be a camera that I will be using going into my final major project as part of the Masters I'm currently doing.

Busy with developing my new project, researching and creating work. Also, starting to plan ways to showcase my photographs that I create outside of my personal projects. All my social media are currently my project based work which is the main thing I focus on, yet I've recently decided I need to showcase my other photography along side this.

Joan // Unveil'd Feature

Work from my series 'Joan' featured over on Unveil'd site and their instagram page!
Daniella Gott . Feature

(Definitely check out the other work whilst over there as they feature a lot of interesting work)

Photograd Instagram Takeover

So, this week, I have taken over the PhotoGrad Instagram. Majority of my posts were photos from my series 'Joan' as this is the main body of work that I have recently completed.

I planned my posts and captions the day before and was ready to post the following day. Mon-Wed I focused on photographs from 'Joan'. Then on the Thursday I posted photos from my older project 'Family Album'. And finally, on the Friday, I posted some current photos from my newest project.

I really enjoyed posting to the platform for the week and big thanks to PhotoGrad for allowing me access to their instagram!

Photograd Open 2018

So pleased to announce that my photo book 'Joan' is going to be part of an exhibition run by Photograd at the London Metropolitan University as part of Photomonth!

The exhibition is on from the 16th - 29th November, in the Atrium Gallery at London Metropolitan Uni. If you're around, pop in for a look, there are some talented photographers included and an interesting range of projects.

Find a list of the people exhibiting printed work here.

And the list of people who are exhibiting photo books/zines here.

Photograd // Highly Commended Artist 2018.

Since graduating University, I have been submitting my work in various places. One of the places I submitted work to was the photograd PGZ2018 zine. As well as selecting work for the printed zine, they also selected some standout work to be featured on the photograd blog. I submitted work from 'Joan' which was my final major project. Getting the email back, I'm happy to say I was on the list of the Highly Commended 2018 photography graduates alongside some other great work! 

Check out the blog post here 

Graduate Exhibition // 2018.

On friday, our graduate exhibition opened. Previous to this was a week that we were putting the work up. I was in at the beginning of the week when the space was empty, and I also came in a few days during the end of the week. From doing this, I found it interesting to see the change in the space from day to day as more work was being put up. With each piece of work that were being displayed, it seemed to really transform the space. Overall, the process of seeing the exhibition and displaying my own work, I found to be interesting.

That then lead us to the opening night which was also a great night. After spending the week in the space seeing the work being displayed, it was nice to be able to have it completed and celebrate the past year.


Exhibition display plan:

Entry for the BJP Portrait of Britain Award 2018.

I spotted on social media that it was coming up to the Deadline of the Portrait of Britain Award that the BJP holds every year. With University coming to an end, I want to keep looking and entering my work in as many competitions that are suitable as I can. Competitions are a great way to get your work out there, and even if you don't win, specific people within the industry are still seeing your work and name in these various competitions and opportunities can come at anytime.

I entered the Portrait of my Grandmother below that I took as part of my Final Major Project in Dec 2017 as it immediately came to mind when I saw the competition.

CV workshop and Careers Meeting // 2

Laura had come in to run a CV writing workshop. This had some really useful information as I hadn't really had to think much about a CV coming straight from Sixth form to University. She gave us some tips on what to put on our CV's and how to write them in a way that appeals to the employer. 

• Targeting is Key - When applying for a job, we need to adapt our CV to specific features to match the job. Having all the relevant information but tailoring it specifically to the organisation or the specific role requirements. 
• Listing your skills is a part of a CV. Laura stated that a lot of people write their skills yet dont demonstrate them. This is something that makes your CV stand out more and shows you can do specific things rather than just telling the employer a list.

She also went through other elements of the CV such as the personal profile which is a good way to set a first impression, and introduce yourself and your interests in 3 simple questions. 1.Who? 2.What do you do? and 3. What are you looking for? 

This workshop made me think about CV's differently and I know that I can book an appointment with the career advisors when I come to producing my own which is useful.

Today, was my follow up meeting with Laura. I had filled out my self awareness table which I had written the projects I had done and what Skills I had developed from these. This helped to see which Skills I have developed over the years of being at university and which skills need improving so that I can have a wide range.
I had also researched into the different areas that I could potentially enter after Graduation, yet I still don't really know what I would like to do.

With this, Laura tried to narrow it down and I spoke about the elements of projects over the years of University that I have enjoyed. Exhibitions and Galleries are places I like to visit, and my own practice is project based also. With this, Laura suggested an Arts Administrator type of job. And the next steps would be to look at volunteering in a gallery in order to place myself in the specific environment and see how it turns out.

Another element she suggested to look into was events planning and organisation. I can explore different events and fairs to volunteer at and maybe look into some specifically to do with photography. This allows me to test different working environments, which some may work for me and some may not. However, putting myself in the environment is the best next step and also allows me to network with like minded people and also a variety of people from different backgrounds. 

Creating a Website

The idea of creating a website has been with me for a while now, but I've never really known where to start and also wasn't fully happy with the work I was creating.

Finishing second year I had created a few series of work that I was really happy with and knew would sit nicely on a website. Going through third year has also created my Final Major Project which again would take up space on my own website.

I start using Instagram at the start of my third year, setting up a page specifically for my photography. After using this for a while, as good as it is, as my work is project based, it was becoming hard to upload photos together, often resulting in me not uploading anything. Also instagram isn't designed for photographs to be viewed as series and I found it to be limiting in the various ways I wanted to present my work but couldn't due to its grid format.

This is when I decided I needed a photography site to display my work and allow the audience to see my work more easily and how I want to present it and also it could be used as a portfolio in the future for jobs, reviews or even competitions.

I discovered I already had access to Adobe Portfolio as I had the photography package. After picking a template and spending a good few hours adjusting various elements so that it was how I wanted it, I got a final product I was happy with. Then I spent another few hours, planning and creating pages for each project I want to show. I started with 4 projects so far from my second and final year, but I have a few more to add in the future.

Sequencing and Dummy Book no2

Thinking about my final display for the Graduate Exhibition, A book accompanying my work on the wall would work well in showing a bigger picture. My project had various different areas that all link, yet this can not be shown on a wall so a book is a perfect way to include the various elements.

With this in mind, I began to spend time with my images I had printed and started experimenting with sequencing. Throughout, I also sketched out a rough plan for the book that I can then produce and print to see how well it works when looking through it as I normally would.

I created my first dummy book just on the computer, so having the physical prints were a slightly different method than previously but it was useful being able to move, add and take away different photographs easily to see what worked and what didn't.

I started by collecting up all the prints I had from various shoots over the year and sorting them into categories of the different shoots. I then narrowed some piles down further so I could see the different areas I had photographed. This helped as I then could locate specific photos easily when sequencing them in the images below. I also used plain A4 paper as the separate pages of the 'book', that I could then move the images about on.   I kept some of the images from the first dummy book the same, however, I also took into consideration the feedback from my interim and from the Alumni. From the feedback. I have added in some images that seemed to be missing from my first dummy book.