Focus on St Andrews Photography Festival

St Andrews Photography Festival is among 14 forthcoming events taking place across the country to benefit from a share of £145,500 in the latest awards round of the National Funding Programme run by EventScotland, part of the national tourism organisation’s Events Directorate.

The event, which takes place throughout September, has been awarded £5,500 to grow its profile across the country. The National Funding Programme supports the strategic delivery of events taking place outside Edinburgh and Glasgow with the aim of driving domestic tourism, delivering economic impact for local communities, and generating media profile for Scotland.

The month-long programme of events aims to celebrate a long line of Scottish photographers, historic and contemporary, and to recognise St Andrews as the home of Scottish photography. William Henry Fox Talbot’s infamous photographic process patent did not apply to Scotland, and so experiment abounded in this north-east corner of Fife. St Andrews luminaries, such as Dr John Adamson and Hugh Lyon Playfair, were some of the first amateur and professional Scottish photographers.

Approximately 15 non-traditional venues across the town will have their wall space taken over. Additionally, organisers will be hosting events, talks, historic process demonstrations, and workshops, as well as an amateur photography competition. The event will be launched by a Gin Fayre Exhibition.

The event has been developed by BID St Andrews in collaboration with the University of St Andrews Library, Special Collections Division, and has received support from Fife Council.

Rhonda NcCrimmon, manager of BID St Andrews, said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic to get support from EventScotland’s National Funding Programme. Despite everyone knowing St Andrews is the home of Golf, few know the crucial role it played in the introduction of photography to Scotland.

“We believe this is a unique selling point of the town so this event is a great opportunity to showcase the area as well as celebrate the country’s rich photographic history.”

Manuela Calchini, regional director for VisitScotland, added: “I am delighted to see that St Andrews Photography Festival was one of the 14 events across the country to be supported by EventScotland.”

For more information on St Andrews Photography Festival go to www.standrewsphotographyfestival.com.