Ben Harman, Director of Stills: Centre for Photography in Edinburgh, speaks to Alicia Bruce.

Alicia Bruce is an award-winning, working-class photographer, community collaborator, educator, and activist based in Scotland. Her photography sits between documentary and staged imagery focusing on communities, environments, and human rights. Alicia Bruce is a member of the collective Women Photograph. Her first monograph 'I Burn But I Am Not Consumed' Daylight Books (USA), 2023 documents sixteen years of Donald Trump’s impact on a coastal Scottish community near where the artist grew up. 

Images from this monograph are currently being exhibited at Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago and soon at Lishui Photography Festival, China. 

Alicia’s photographs have been exhibited and published internationally, winning several artists’ residencies and bursaries including the Royal Scottish Academy Morton Award. Her images have been featured in Le Monde, The Guardian, FT Weekend, The Times, The Scotsman, BBC News and STV News, and are represented in several public and private collections including the National Galleries of Scotland, St Andrews University Special Collections, UK Parliament, Martin Parr Foundation and The RSA. She recently gave talks at Art Institute Chicago, MoCP, Chicago, Columbia College, International Centre for Photography and School of Visual Arts in New York, Aberdeen Art Gallery, BOP Bristol and Stills.   Exhibitions include MoCP, Chicago, VU Photo, Quebec, National Galleries of Scotland, Stills, Street Level, Ffotogallery, Impressions Gallery, Open Eye and more. 

Her commissioned portfolio features clients including Harpers Magazine (NYC), Reuters, Project Ability, engage, Zero Tolerance, Crisis and more.  

 

As an educator, Alicia has over 15 years experience teaching in communities, galleries and in further and higher education.   She is a Teaching Fellow at Edinburgh College of Art (Photography and Fine Art) as well as at Edinburgh University Centre for Open Learning. She taught Darkroom, analogue and digital workshops at Street Level Photoworks for over a decade as well as in Scotland's Colleges (Stevenson College, Fife College and City of Glasgow College) and National Galleries of Scotland.  She is founder of Portobello Photography School and holds a PDA in teaching. 

 

Current Exhibition 

'Love: Still Not the Lesser' Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago 

 

Next Exhibition 

2023 Lishui Photography Festival, China 

In partnership with Format Festival 

 

Website: www.aliciabruce.co.uk

Instagram: aliciabrucephoto

Episode music by Dom mino'