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NEWS
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October 2022
A Photographic Friendship
A new book to celebrate the friendship of two photographers who both embarked on their careers in Devon 50 years ago.
With a Foreword by Michael Morpurgo this book presents - for the first time together - a selection of the finest photographs of North Devon and Dartmoor by James Ravilious and Chris Chapman dating back to the 1970s. It also includes a specially recorded conversation between Chris Chapman and James's daughter, Ella Ravilious, and an essay by Professor Mark Haworth-Booth, Honorary Research Fellow, Victoria and Albert Museum/
To see details and order the book, follow this link
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March 2022. A unique collection of Dartmoor photographs is set to go on show in a 180-year-old West Devon chapel this summer.
The well-known Dartmoor photographer Chris Chapman, who lives locally at Throwleigh, has been taking pictures of life around the moor for fifty years. Over this time he has built up a nationally important archive of photographs.
With the support of a grant of £9,647 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the members of Providence Methodist Chapel, Throwleigh, will be mounting a special exhibition of Chris Chapman’s photographs during a series of Saturday open days between June and October 2022.
Ian Crawford, the chapel’s project coordinator, said: "We are delighted to be opening our doors this summer to give everyone the chance to see Chris Chapman’s wonderful Dartmoor photographs. We look forward to welcoming local families and visitors from further afield, including walkers along the new Archangel Way."
The chapel’s heritage project is also being supported by the Methodist Church and Devon County Council. Cllr James McInnes, County Councillor for Hatherleigh and Chagford, said: "This is an important project. Chris Chapman captures the essence of Dartmoor and its residents. It’s a rare gift and this project will bring his pictures to a wider audience."
Alongside the exhibition, Providence Methodist Chapel will be hosting a series of talks and running a project to discover more about the families who have been connected with the chapel going back over eight generations to 1839. Anyone interested in helping with this project is welcome to contact Ian Crawford at Providence1839@gmail.com
Since The National Lottery began in 1994, National Lottery players have raised over £43 billion for projects and more than 635,000 grants have been awarded across the UK. | |  |
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The Art of Documentary Photography in Devon - a symposium in celebration of the work of James Ravilious and Chris Chapman.
2022 marks 50 years since both James Ravilious and Chris Chapman started their careers as documentary photographers in Devon. Chris Chapman took his first photographs on Dartmoor in the summer of 1972 and still lives and works on the moor today. In the autumn of that same year James Ravilious began work as resident photographer at the Beaford Centre. He lived and worked in rural North Devon until his death in 1999.
This symposium will celebrate the impact that the work of both these master photographers has had over the past 50 years and continues to have to this day. It will also address issues relating to the future of documentary photography in Devon and beyond.
Organised by Beaford in association with the Ravilious/Chapman 50th Anniversary Group. For further details and how to book go to:
https://beaford.org/events/symposium | |  |
The Three Hares, A Curiosity Worth Regarding
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Three Hares share three ears, yet each beast has two, following each other in an eternal circle. This richly illustrated book tells the story of a 25-year quest, which began in Devon in South West England, to explore, across much of Eurasia, the origins, transmission, use and survival of this charming, enigmatic and sometimes geometrically precise motif.
From their earliest recorded presence in sixth-century Buddhist caves in China, to the Christian abbeys and churches of medieval western Europe, embracing the Islamic world and Judaism as well, the Three Hares are given sacred and special status in diverse cultures, including that of the Mongol Empire. Examples are given of work by artisans inspired by the Three Hares for more than 1400 years. Undoubtedly the motif is 'A Curiosity Worth Regarding'.
The 'three hares' motif is an ancient mystery for our time..... A warning against sin? Or a way to advertise good fortune? A fascinating book ranges from Devon to China in its search for the origin of an enigmatic image.
Details HERE
View the article via http://www.newscientist.com
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Life on a Dartmoor Scrapyard - The Later Years
Peggy Harris's highly successful first book, Life on a Dartmoor Scrapyard: The Early Years tells the story of her life growing up near Chagford on the legendary Lettaford scrapyard owned by her father, Sam Harris. Sam - whose reputation spread far beyond the bounds of Dartmoor, and who is remembered with great affection - died in 1988, so it might be easy to think that's where the story ends. But nothing could be further from the truth. Sam may have gone; the scrapyard may be a mere shadow of its former self; but quite the opposite can be said of Peggy.
Her latest book, illustrated with personal images and photographs by Chris Chapman, recalls Peggy's struggle to move on into adulthood and to make a life for herself and her daughter Clare in the face of great adversity. Some of what is here makes tough reading, but even during the darkest days Peggy's resilience and strength of character shine through.
All enquiries to Chris Chapman 07796 977675
email chapchrisman@gmail.com
a Skerryvore Production 2014
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