A legendary photographer will be appearing at the University of Sussex next week to inform and inspire a new generation of visual artists, who are presenting their own work at this year’s Media Practice showcase.
Marilyn Stafford, who now lives in West Sussex and can count Einstein, Edith Piaf, Le Corbusier and Twiggy among her portrait subjects, will be discussing her life and work on Tuesday 29 May at the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts from 6.30pm.
The event marks the launch of the yearly BA Media Practice Student Showcase event, which allows current students to display the screenings, images and installations that form part of their final year project, spanning multiple media; from sound, animation and documentary to photography, digital media and drama.
The showcase is free to attend and students’ work can also be seen on the following day, Wednesday 30 May, between 11am and 3pm.
Stafford was born in the USA and moved to Paris in 1948, where she became close friends with Magnum founders Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, cutting her teeth in the industry by taking photos of poverty-stricken children in the City of Light.
After capturing the plight of Algerian refugees escaping across the border into Tunisia during the 1958 Algerian War with France, Stafford moved to Rome and then Beirut, continuing to take photographs before moving back to the UK and embarking upon a career as a successful stills photographer in film and fashion.
In 2017, the Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award was launched on International Women’s Day to recognise the work of professional female photographers making a positive social and environmental impact in the field.
The BA Media Practice Showcase is run by the School of Media, Film and Music at the University of Sussex.