grassroots photography festival

Andreea is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and founder of photoILKLEY. Working across photography, installation, and text, her practice explores themes of care, memory, displacement, and belonging—often rooted in personal experience and extending into broader social reflection. Her work resists resolution, instead inviting quiet attention and layered interpretation. Alongside her artistic practice, Chitan curates and produces with a focus on dialogue, care, and collaboration, approaching exhibitions as conceptual extensions of her ethos. She holds an MA in Photography from the Royal College of Art and continues to explore the possibilities of visual language as a space for reflection and connection.

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photo by Carolyn Mendelsohn

Raised with a deep-rooted sense of contentment and joy in the outdoors, Ben's practice builds upon this grounding, using photography as a means to question the complexities of contemporary life. Living with ADHD, he experiences the world through a restless mind—one that constantly seeks out connections as a way of making sense of things. Yet, this pursuit of meaning coexists with lingering uncertainty, a lifetime of “otherness” resulting in an internal questioning of his experiences and perceptions.. It is this very vulnerability that informs his photographic approach. Rather than serving as straightforward records, his images probe the fluid nature of memory and time—how both can distort, soften, or recast the stories we tell ourselves and the world we inhabit.

Cath is a Bradford-based documentary photographer who carries a profound sensitivity for people and their stories. Her work often centres around those whose lives are rarely represented within traditional art spaces, engaging with communities at the margins not as an outsider, but as a participant and listener. In her most recent solo exhibition, Dreams, and songs to sing (Cartwright Hall, 2024), Cath turned her lens toward Bradford’s Gypsy and Traveller communities. The project resonated powerfully, drawing nearly 20,000 visitors — a testament not only to her photographic skill, but to the trust she fosters and the emotional truths she captures.

Charlie is a photographer with a sharp eye for expression, community, and storytelling. Partially deaf and raised in a visual world of lipreading and sign language, Charlie brings a unique sensitivity to capturing faces, body language, and the quiet connections between people. Whether working with individuals, theatre companies, musicians, or community groups, Charlie’s portraits celebrate authenticity, emotion and identity. Charlie is especially passionate about photographing deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people, and his recent projects reflect that commitment. His work spans performance, screen and grassroots communities, with commissions from organisations including Leeds Playhouse, Graeae, Opera North, Apple TV, Deaffest, the Wellcome Collection, and many more. 

From an early age, photography became a meaningful part of Laura’s life, beginning with childhood memories spent alongside her grandfather. She would follow him for hours, observing his architectural eye as he captured images of landscapes, family moments, and everyday objects. They would then spend long afternoons in his study, poring over the photographs, discussing their favourite compositions, the interplay of colours, and the emotions each image evoked. From those sessions, she would carefully select the best shots to present.

This early visual journey—and the camera as her tool of expression—remained with her, eventually guiding her to study photography and pursue a career that continues to nourish her deeply.

Her passion lies in people, their lives, and their stories. She takes great pleasure in crafting visual storyboards through still photography, capturing the essence of each subject she encounters.

Mark is a photographer based in Ilkley. He was born and brought up in the Bradford area and has a background in television production at the BBC in London. More recently he has been working with community development charities and in media education. 

He enjoys the experimental and expressive aspects of photography, often playing with medium format film and alternative processing techniques.   

His work reflects the immersive experiences of nature in all kinds of weather and often uses natural raw materials as part of the processing and presentation of the work.  Through the creative process he tries to take a slow and mindful approach, often returning to the same subject in repeated visits.

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Rob is a photographer who finds inspiration in capturing life's fleeting, authentic moments. As a ten-year Army veteran, business owner, and passionate music enthusiast, his life experiences deeply inform his approach to photography. Rob's style is documentary, and he takes joy in portraying individuals, their pets, businesses, and relationships as genuinely as possible, highlighting the true essence of his subjects through his lens.

Originally from North Yorkshire and now based in Bristol, Zoe is a photographer and bookmaker with a passion for uncovering unique and underrepresented stories. Her work is rooted in a subtle and often metaphorical documentary style, capturing moments that exist in the spaces between the obvious and the overlooked. With a keen eye for nuance, Zoe approaches storytelling with sensitivity, using photography to explore deeper narratives that might otherwise go unnoticed. Her projects often blur the lines between documentary and personal reflection, creating images that invite contemplation and multiple interpretations.