Documentary photographer Venetia Dearden has joined VII Network - VII Photo's spin-off launched in early 2008.

VII Network represents the work of photographers that are not full members of the VII Photo agency. Dearden joins photographers such as Lynsey Addario, Jocelyn Bain Hogg, Andrea Bruce, Stefano De Luigi, Adam Ferguson, Ashley Gilbertson, Tomas van Houtryve and Donal Weber, among others.

The new addition departs from VII's traditional photojournalism take, but, says managing director Stephen Mayes, Dearden "expands VII's coverage without distracting from our core mission to document and explore the world we live in."

He adds: "Venetia brings a different eye to VII and it's exciting to see her strong documentary style applied in different areas such as fashion and lifestyle," says VII Photo's managing director Stephen Mayes. "It's particularly refreshing to see documentary photographers finding interesting things to say without straying far from home, and Venetia's work on the Glastonbury music festival is shot on her doorstep yet taps into global culture. We are delighted to add her existing work to the archive and excited to see what she produces next."

Image © Venetia Dearden / VII Network.

Dearden, born in 1975, has spent most of her life in Somerset. In 1990, she took her first black-and-white photography course, before setting off to East Africa, in 1994, on work placements. She was further inspired when she discovered the Visa Pour l'Image photojournalism festival in Perpignan in 1997.

Dearden graduated with a degree in anthropology is 1999, according to her online biography, and was mentored by Medford Taylor. Before joining VII Network, she was represented by Paris-based agency TaigaPress and Santucci & Co.

For more information, visit www.viiphoto.com and www.venetiadearden.com.