THE ART OF NOTICING: PHOTOGRAPHS BY DOROTHY BOHM
11 October - 13 December 2021
www.florafairbairn.com
Flora Fairbairn & Co. are delighted to present an online exhibition of the work of one of the doyennes of British photography
With a career spanning over seven decades and numerous exhibitions and publications to her name, Dorothy Bohm is widely regarded as one of the doyennes of British photography. This body of work, available exclusively with Flora Fairbairn & Co, spans some 40 years, and offers Bohm's unique perspective on a rapidly changing world. Born in Königsberg, East Prussia in 1924, Bohm came to England as a refugee from Nazism in 1939. This exhibition serves as a means to support other child refugees through a 10% donation of profits to the charity Safe Passage, which provides much-needed legal aid and advocacy for unaccompanied children seeking asylum across Europe.
Following Flora Fairbairn & Co’s launch in June 2021 with an inaugural online group exhibition of works by emerging and established Cuban artists, this solo presentation of photographs by Dorothy Bohm acts as a snapshot of her life and work while introducing her work to those who may have not yet have had the privilege of discovering it. As former Senior Curator of Photographs at the V&A, Mark Haworth-Booth has commented, “Her favourite venue for photography is democratic – the streets and other public spaces we all inhabit. In general, she notices with pleasure, points with delight and shares with grace and generosity”
NOTES TO EDITORS
THE ART OF NOTICING: PHOTOGRAPHS BY DOROTHY BOHM
11 OCTOBER - 13 DECEMBER 2021
ONLINE ONLY: WWW.FLORAFAIRBAIRN.COM
10% OF PROFITS WILL GO TO SAFE PASSAGE
ABOUT DOROTHY BOHM
Dorothy Bohm was born in Königsberg, East Prussia in 1924 and came to England as a refugee from Nazism in 1939. After studying photography in Manchester she opened her own portrait studio in the city at the age of 21. In the late 1940s a visit to Switzerland prompted her to work outside the studio, and by the late 1950s she had abandoned studio portraiture for street photography, working in black and white until the early 1980s before moving totally to colour. Her first exhibition, People at Peace, was held at the ICA, London, in 1969, and her first book, A World Observed, was published in 1970. Closely involved in the founding of The Photographers’ Gallery in the early 1970s, she was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society in 2009. Now aged 97, Dorothy’s engagement with photography continues unabated.
ABOUT FLORA FAIRBAIRN & CO.
We build art collections, curate exhibitions, produce creative projects and present art for sale. Since 2000, Flora Fairbairn has collaborated with a wide network of artists, curators, institutions, foundations, collectors, consultants, galleries, charities, developers and sponsors. Flora Fairbairn & Co, utilises Flora's unique position and experience to build art collections and produce cutting-edge exhibitions, events and installations, often in architecturally-interesting, temporary locations. These use the contemporary arts as a vehicle to drive awareness of a whole range of issues, whether in the not-for-profit sector, or by bringing deserving artists to centre stage.
ABOUT SAFE PASSAGE
Safe Passage International helps children in search of refuge to reach a safe place without risking their lives, and they do this by using the law. They make the system fairer for more children and families who are in dangerous situations. Every year, thousands of children and young people arrive in Europe and almost half of them are on their own, having started the journey alone as families desperately try and save their children from war, or after losing their loved ones on the arduous journey. All are at risk of being abused and trafficked. Many of these children lost their only safe route to travel to the UK when the UK left the EU. Hundreds of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have lost hope due to this change in law. Safe Passage restores this hope. It provides direct legal assistance to these children, working within the legal system and fighting their case even against the odds. Safe Passage honours the memory of those efforts to save children who were given hope by Britain in the 1930s and 40s to start a new life, just as Dorothy Bohm was in 1939. We all must support the thousands of children who are currently at risk in Europe to live a safe and dignified life.
