About the MAP6 Photography Collective
The MAP6 photography collective is a group of 10 photographers working together to learn, experiment and make new work about the complex relationship between people and place. Each project eventually takes the form of a curated exhibition, talks or a publication. Each photographer’s approach is informed by a need to document and understand the complicated nuances that give a place its unique characteristics, and how these reflect and inform what is happening in the wider world. At the heart of the collective is collaboration – which takes many forms, from working together during picture making to editing and directing each other’s work.
MAP6 has exhibited the outcomes of these collaborative ventures in the UK and abroad, including at The Helsinki Photo Festival, Colonnade House in Worthing, The Milton Keynes Art Gallery and the Vilnius Photographers Gallery. MAP6 also launched its photobook Finland: The Happiness Project at The Photographers Gallery, London, in 2022, and published a set of zines, Wales: The Landscape Project, in 2023.
MAP6 works with guest photographers, speakers, curators, writers, cultural organisations and publishers. Since its formation in 2012 the collective has experimented with, and deepened its understanding of, what artistic collaboration looks like – both as individuals and the group as a whole. It also supports the development of both emerging and established photographers through guest features on its website and social media channels, Instagram takeovers, workshops and talks.
MAP6 Edition Prints
MAP6 Projects
WALES: The Landscape Project
WALES: The Landscape Project explores different aspects of the Welsh landscape, where nine photographers worked as pairs, plus one set of three, making images and joint editorial decisions together. Each group responded experimentally and personally to their chosen theme. This involved making images in the same location or coming together at the end to create a new narrative through editing and sequencing. The results are four succinct, photographic responses in zine form inspired by the distinctive landscape and character of Wales.
Finland: The Happiness Project
At this critical time, with issues of global health and environmental impact at the forefront, MAP6’s Finland: The Happiness Project explores themes around the United Nations’ World Happiness Report, which in 2022 ranked Finland as the most content nation for the fifth year running. MAP6 visited Finland to try to understand why its people are so happy. The resulting nine series, that forms a single project, question and presents ideas about how we can live healthier, happier and more positive lives.
The Isolation Project
During the initial days of the coronavirus outbreak, five photographers documented their time in Rovaniemi, whilst awaiting confirmation of a flight back to the UK.
The Shetland Project
Closer to the Arctic circle than to London and sharing a latitude with Anchorage, Alaska, Shetland is the Scottish archipelago of over 100 islands (only 12 of which are said to be inhabited) that sit to the very north of the United Kingdom. Six photographers traveled the islands for six days to reflect on the this unique environment, in an attempt to help further our understanding of the archipelago.
The Milton Keynes Project
The plan for Milton Keynes was visionary. A garden city organised around a rigid grid. A low green lush place, planned for the car with self-contained neighbourhoods at its core. Over an intensive long weekend in March 2017, MAP6 visited Milton Keynes to coincide with its 50th birthday, to create a document of a poignant moment in the history of the city. Eight photographers captured its geography, people, architecture and history to create an overlapping, collaborative project to be exhibited at the MK Gallery as part of the anniversary celebrations.
The Lithuania Project
January 1st 2015, Lithuania, the last of the Baltic states, became the 19th country to join the Eurozone – with cash machines dispensing the newly designed notes at 30 minutes past midnight. Many of the country’s 3 million residents welcomed the move, believing themselves to be one step closer to being seen as “European”. Over 6 days 6 photographers set out to explore Lithuania’s transformation from communism to capitalism, and how it copes with its newfound Eurozone identity.
The Moscow Project
MAP6 travelled to Russia, to discover contemporary Moscow, documenting this inimitable city as it continues to wrestles with change.
The Home Project
Be it returning home or examining home, revisiting the historical power of home or the mythical relationships between memory and home, MAP6 explores the significance of Home.
Overview
