The NLI and EPA announce 2024 Photographer-in-Residence

The National Library of Ireland (NLI), in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has today (17.10.23) announced details of a new Photographer-in-Residence initiative at the NLI to visually capture and record our experience of the Irish environment.

The EPA was founded in 1993 and is sponsoring the programme as part of its 30^th anniversary celebrations. The resulting final series of digital photographs will be become part of the permanent national collections at the National Library of Ireland.

Over four seasons the photographer-in-residence will capture images in time of the climate and changing environment, aided by access to EPA experts, and the rich archives of the NLI.

Commenting, Director of the NLI, Dr Audrey Whitty said: “The National Library of Ireland has the largest photographic archive in the country. We house more than five million photographs dating from the 1840s to the present day at the National Photographic Archive in Temple Bar and our Kildare Street location in Dublin. Many of these can also be accessed on the NLI website.   

“Our mission, as the library of record for Ireland, is not just to collect documents from our lived past, but to actively document, preserve and make accessible our heritage.

“This will be the first time the National Library has an appointed photographer-in-residence, who will interrogate and capture through their own lens the challenges to our native landscape, flora, fauna, and the impact of climate. We look forward applications from photographers across Ireland to support us in the creation of a documentary record of the state of Ireland’s environment through an engaging, and likely challenging, collection of images.

An online exhibition will be curated for the public in 2026 and is part of the Library’s ongoing commitment to spark national dialogue and engagement.”

Director General of the EPA Laura Burke added: “We are excited to partner with the National Library of Ireland on this valuable project. This collaboration will create a permanent photographic record of different aspects of the impact of human interaction with the environment in both positive and negative ways. The commissioned body of digital photographic images created will become part of the photographic collections of the NLI.”

"We want this project to capture the richness and diversity of our changing landscapes, but also spark a discussion about our present and the future we are working towards. The EPA’s State of the Environment Report has repeatedly shown that while some aspects of our environment are improving, we need to do more, and do it quickly. This project is not just about the environment as it is—it will provide an insight into the way human values, activities and attitudes will shape  our environment for years to come.”

Application forms and full details on the competition can be found on the NLI website, www.nli.ie/2024-photography-residence. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Wednesday, 22^nd November 2023.

ENDS