Photography has always been a powerful medium for reflecting who we are, where we live, and how we imagine the future. Lens on Change brings together the Irish Photo Network partner organisations to present the work of artists whose practices respond to significant issues of: climate action and diversity. Across three panels, artists and curators will share projects that ask how photography can give voice to underrepresented communities, bear witness to environmental transformation, and open space for dialogue and action. This gathering invites us to consider the image not only as a record of change, but as a catalyst for it.

Panel 1: Artists Joe Laverty and Chad Alexander in conversation with Toby Smith from the Belfast Photo Festival. Their new work is commissioned by Belfast Photo Festival and The National Lottery Heritage Fund to Visualise Northern Ireland’s Natural Heritage.

• Chad Alexander is working closely with conservation charity Ulster Wildlife and the An Creagan Centre to document the rejuvenation of Haughey’s Bog outside Omagh – a thriving demonstration hub for peatland restoration – where restoration and rewetting of the degraded habitat will help bring nature back, improve water quality, reduce flood risk, and tackle climate change.
• Joe Laverty’s long-term project on Lough Neagh investigates how myth and tradition sit alongside heavy industry, closely connected despite being at odds with each other. Joe is consulting with the Lough’s community groups, with additional support from Professor John Barry.  

Panel 2: Yvette Monahan, acclaimed Irish writer Abby Oliveura, and Deirdre Robb will discuss The Clean Blue of Linen, a new project by Yvette Monahan commissioned by We Feed The UK and Belfast Exposed.

• Yvette Monahan’s work documents the role of chemical-free flax from Mallon Farm in County Tyrone in local supply chains. It forms part of a storytelling campaign connecting photographers and poets with inspiring food producers to raise public awareness of positive solutions to climate change, wildlife recovery, and social justice.

Panel 3: Curator Darren Campion in conversation with the 2024 Irish Photo Network Commissioned Artist Niamh Barry, discussing Niamh’s project Something in the Air, a portrait of American storm-chaser Raychel Sanner, a climate advocate, and trans person living in Oklahoma and New Mexico.

• With support from the Irish Photo Network Barry has developed a major new photographic project and documentary film, that is both a portrait of Sanner and reflective study of climate change as it parallels the rise of right-wing politics in America.