Life Goes On is a career retrospective of internationally acclaimed, Bradford-born social documentary photographer Ian Beesley. Edited from Beesley’s archive of 200,000 images, the exhibition includes previously unseen pictures as well as some of his best-known works created during a career spanning over 40 years.
When Beesley (b.1954) was expelled from school he found work in his local sewage works. Colleagues urged him to find a passion and engage in education. With their help, he found photography and headed first for Bradford Art College, then Bournemouth & Poole College of Art. On graduation he was awarded the Kodak scholarship for social documentation. Thus began a lifelong study of the North’s cultural and industrial heritage, with people at the heart of almost every picture.
Ian Beesley has exhibited around the world and his work has been published in over 50 books. In 2012 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society and in 2019 an honorary doctorate from the University of Bradford for his significant contribution to the artistic, cultural and social well being of the city of Bradford.
Life Goes on is open in Gallery 2 Wednesday – Sunday, 10am-5pm. The show will continue into January 2025.
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