A Photographic Life - 191: Christmas Special, Plus Curator, Editor, and Consultant Zelda Cheatle

In episode 191 UNP founder and curator Grant Scott is in his shed wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Happy Holidays, whilst not taking things too seriously. Plus this week curator, editor, and photographic consultant Zelda Cheatle take's on the challenge of supplying Grant with an audio file no longer than 5 minutes in length in which she answer's the question ‘What Does Photography Mean to You?’ Zelda Cheatle’s life in photography and the arts has encompassed being a photographer, gallerist, publisher, curator, lecturer and author. She began her gallery career at The Photographers’ Gallery, London working with internationally renowned photographers and emerging British artists using photography. In 1989, she started the Zelda Cheatle Gallery, first in Cecil Court, WC2 , then Mount Street W.1 and finally in Shoreditch until 2005, where, she exhibited important work by British and international artists – including Helen Chadwick, Eve Arnold, Berenice Abbott, Sarah Moon, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Lee Miller, Robert Frank and Abbas Kiarostami among many others. Her gallery also consistently showed young and emerging artists and the Zelda Cheatle Press published monographs of contemporary British artists and photographers. As lead curator for the World Photography Organisation for many years, Cheatle has spoken extensively about photography and its place as fine art. Her recent photographic exhibitions include Cecil Beaton in both the State Hermitage, St Petersburg and Blenheim Palace; Yan Wang Preston in China; photography from the Gulf countries exhibited in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the Dubai Photo Exhibition comprising 868 photo works. She began and managed the first Photography Fund, that collected, exhibited and published a collection of over 6,000 iconic prints including a Russian 20th century collection, Eve Arnolds vintage archive and icons and masterpieces of the European and American schools. She is an Honorary Fellow at the University of the Arts Bournemouth, a Member of the Council of Friends, National Gallery of Ireland and has been on the Advisory Committee, Photo Shanghai, Chair of judges, Kraszna Krausze book Award and a Nominator for the Deutsche Borse and Prix Pictet competitions. Zelda Cheatle continues to curate exhibitions and publish, review and challenge photography. www.zeldacheatle.com Dr.Grant Scott is the the founder/curator of United Nations of Photography, a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, a working photographer, documentary filmmaker, BBC Radio contributor and the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019). Comedy Extracts: Hancock's Half Hour: The Photographer, Series 6 Episode 8. 1960 People Like Us: The Photographer, Series 1, Episode 2. 1999 The Sketch Show, Series 1, Episode 6. 2001 Podcast music: Written and performed by Dr. Laura Ritchie www.lauraritchie.com © Grant Scott 2021