Photopoetry: An evening of words and images

Photographs and poems have appeared side-by-side in books since the mid-nineteenth century, but the designation ‘photopoetry’ is relatively recent. Today, photopoetry is flourishing, whether in publications by poet-photographers, collaborations between writers and visual artists, or in edited volumes. This celebratory evening of words and images coincides with the Photopoetry display in the V&A Photography Centre.  David Solo – a passionate collector, enthusiastic photopoetry advocate, and guest-curator of the display – will give a brief history of the genre.  Four contemporary practitioners, Poulomi Basu, Siddharth Khajuria, Vik Shirley, and Andrew Zawacki, will then read poems from their own work while showing associated images. The evening will culminate with a panel discussion, moderated by V&A Curator of Photography Marta Weiss, exploring the creative possibilities of bringing poetry and photography into dialogue. Artist/author biographies: Poulomi Basu Poulomi Basu is a multimedia artist and author known for her exploration of the interrelationship between systems of power and bodies through work that exists at the limits of visual art/ photography, film, creative technologies and activism. Basu’s work is defined by her transnational identity, working across cross/interdisciplinary and experimental mediums. Basu is a BAFTA Breakthrough UK 2024 awardee, was nominated in competition at Festival de Cannes 2024 and was awarded an ICP Museum Infinity Award in 2023. Her work