Your chance to invest in British Journal of Photography

A note from BJP…

Some of you might have seen a few messages on our social media, or received a note from us about crowdfunding and the future of BJP. Don’t worry – it’s good news. We’re very excited to announce that British Journal of Photography are looking to raise at least £150,000 through equity crowdfunding.

We’ve grown from a weekly trade journal to an international brand respected across the industry, encompassing magazines, events, digital initiatives and collaborative partnerships. We have ambitious plans for the future and want to better serve our global readership and with additional investment, we’re confident we’ll be able to do so.

Crowdfunding has become mainstream recent years, and it’s the perfect way for us to allow our readers to participate in our growth. But this isn’t your average crowdfunding proposal – if you invest in BJP (starting from just £10), you’ll own a piece of the one of the oldest photographic institutions.

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Offprint 2015

The global appetite for photography has grown massively in recent years and we’ve grown with it, turning our eye to exciting new festivals and championing the best emerging image-makers. But we want to do more – with additional funds, we’ll be able to cover every aspect of the industry –  from intimate gallery shows to blockbuster exhibitions, taking in hefty photobooks and DIY zines.

We’ve also built a healthy events programme running year-round, including our International Photography Awards (in its 11th year), Breakthrough (our student season), our educational workshops (in partnership with Magnum Photos) and Portrait of Britain, our most ambitious competition yet that will be showcased nationwide to millions. There’s tremendous scope to expand here, and more resources will allow us to implement the exciting new projects we have planned.

Breakthrough 2015 opening night
Breakthrough 2015 opening night

While we’re resolute in our focus on contemporary photography, we haven’t forgotten our unique heritage. British Journal of Photography has witnessed over 160 years of photographic history – the products, the people and of course, the images.

Our archive dates back to the 1850s, and we know many people are interested in what’s inside. Over the last two years, we’ve undertaken the process of scanning over 180,000 pages of BJP.

Want to learn about Martin Parr’s first solo exhibition, read an early profile of Corinne Day or even find out about the rise of colour photography? It’s all in our archive. Now, we want to make this available to our subscribers and sell access to the wider public. With your help, we can make the history of photography available to all.

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While audiences are exposed to more images than ever before, photographers themselves aren’t always fairly compensated for their art. Photographers want to share their work with their audience and photography lovers want to experience their favourite work more intimately.

We want to help facilitate that. This year we asked the photographers entering our awards if they were interested in us helping them to sell prints – 87% said yes. We’ve partnered with leading art photography printers and with additional resources, we’ll be able to make this a reality.

Over the years, we’ve evolved and changed to better reflect the industry – as our recent redesign attests. We’re already an authoritative industry voice, but we believe that with fresh investment, we can become the last word in untangling the ideas behind the images.

Get involved: pre-register your interest here.

Risk warning: please #investaware.