Meeting You, Again: Photography, Memory and the Practice of Return (2016 calls 2026)

In 2026, many of us find ourselves looking back ten years, to 2016. What does it mean to revisit who we were then, and why does that moment continue to surface now?

This workshop draws from Yani Clarke’s LUCKY ROCKET, a photographic series made across a decade, revisiting the same experience, ten years apart — almost exactly to the day. By returning to the same festival and shifting from black-and-white to colour film, Clarke created a dialogue between past and present—holding two versions of the self in tension.

Participants are invited to undertake a similar act of return. Using photographs, memories, notes, or emotional fragments originating around 2016 as a starting point, they will develop new work in response —revisiting, re-seeing, or re-imagining what came before.

Participants are encouraged to work from material connected to 2016, with some flexibility (e.g. late 2015–early 2017), provided they can clearly articulate their relationship to that period.

As part of the workshop, participants will be provided with colour disposable cameras, creating continuity across the group. This encourages a more intuitive, responsive approach to image-making, echoing earlier ways of working while opening new possibilities. Participants may also incorporate other mediums alongside this process.

Delivered online in a small, focused group (maximum ten participants), the workshop includes fortnightly check-ins, image sharing, and ongoing feedback. Rather than chasing newness or resolution, the emphasis is on reflection, contrast, and artistic growth.

The outcome is not a fixed result, but a process: a deeper understanding of one’s own practice, and the beginning of a new body of work grounded in personal history.

Date & Time

Meeting You, Again runs online over 4 fortnightly sessions, 6-8 pm on Zoom

Wednesday 2 September
Wednesday 16 September
Wednesday 30 September
Wednesday 14 October

Zoom links will be sent out before each session

Program

Session 1 — Sept 2, 6-8 pm on Zoom: Returning to 2016

• Introduction to the workshop and Lucky Rocket (visual mood-board)
• Participant introductions and project discussion
• Sharing initial material: images, notes, memories, references (via screen share)
• Group discussion on memory, nostalgia, and personal archives
• Participants identify a specific point of return (moment, place, relationship, image, or feeling connected to 2016)
• Selection of working approach (disposable camera and/or additional mediums)
• Establish individual shooting direction and intentions for the next two weeks

Between sessions: Independent shooting

Session 2 — Sept 16, 6-8 pm on Zoom: First Revisit

• Review of initial images
• Group feedback and discussion
• Identifying what is working: visual shifts, emotional resonance, unexpected directions
• Moving beyond literal re-creation—encouraging interpretation, distance, and risk
• Refining approach and setting direction for second shoot

Between sessions: Second shoot / deeper exploration

Session 3 — Sept 30, 6-8 pm on Zoom: Shaping the Work

• Review of new and refined images
• Image selection and editing process
• Introduction to sequencing and visual storytelling
• Identifying themes, patterns, and emotional through-lines across the work
• Clarifying intent: what is this work becoming?

Between sessions: Final shoot or refinement / begin edit consolidation

Session 4 — Oct 14, 6-8 pm on Zoom: Resolution

• Final image selection and sequencing
• Group critique and discussion
• Preparing work for simple output (digital presentation, online format, or small print outcome)
• Optional discussion: pathways for informal presentation (zine, PDF, online showcase)

What's provided

• Disposable colour film camera (1 per participant, optional use)
• Film development and digital scanning (with paid return postage bag to get the roll of film back to photo access)
• Small notebook and pen for taking notes and recording discoveries
• Structured sessions, guidance, and ongoing feedback
• Example works, references, and visual material

Materials will be sent out to participants via mail, so please ensure the best mailing address is included when enrolling for the class

What to bring

• Camera (film or digital — optional alongside the provided disposable camera)
• Laptop (if available, for viewing and editing)
• Notebook or journal
• Personal material connected to 2016 (e.g. photographs, writings, messages, or memories of a place, event, or relationship)
• A starting point: one idea, memory, or moment they wish to revisit and respond to

Additional Information

• Suitable for beginner to intermediate photographers
• Open to both film and digital practices
• Emphasis on process, experimentation, and personal narrative
• Outcome: development of a photographic series (approx. 5–30 images)
• Potential for informal presentation (zine, digital showcase, or small online exhibition)
• Optional remote experimentation led by the tutor: participants may submit up to 5 images to be printed as Fujifilm Instax photographs. These prints can then be reworked, re-scanned, and incorporated into their developing body of work.

The Fine Print

Enrolments for this workshop close at 4 pm Tuesday 18 August 2026 (to enable ample time for materials to be shipped). As a not-for-profit, our financial margins are narrow and classes require a minimum number of participants to run. In the event that photo access cancels a workshop, refunds will be paid in full or a transfer allowed free of charge. If a class is postponed, we will endeavour to reschedule at a time convenient to enrolled participants.

photo access will happily refund or transfer workshop fees up to 7 days prior to the start date of the workshop. If less than 7 days’ notice is given, photo access can offer a partial refund of 50%. Alternatively, enrolment can transfer to another workshop with a 50% transfer credit. If less than 48 hours are given, no refunds or transfers can be given.

If you are unwell and unable to make the course, please give us at least 24 hours’ notice. If you are absent from the class and have not notified us beforehand, no refunds or transfers can be given.