Amanda Ritson

I'm a photography project manager, producer, curator, and academic tutor based at the Northern Centre of Photography.

My work with students focuses on professions-facing activity and development.

Since 2009, I 've been the Manager of NEPN(opens in new tab) (North East Photography Network),
which commissions photographic projects, develops regional, national, and
international partnerships for the presentation of new works, and offers professional
development programmes and critical dialogues for students, staff, alumni, and the wider photographic community.

My recent projects with NEPN include curation of Observe Experiment Archive, a series of photography commissions and critical conversations exploring the links between photography and science, culminating in an international group exhibition at Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, supported by Arts Council England; SHIFTS, a professional development programme for photographers in the north-east (mentoring, talks, workshops, mapping the ecology and photographers' needs), supported by Arts Council England; and Sunderland ’73: The People’s Visual History, a photographic and cultural heritage project with Visiting Professor Julian Germain, supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund.

I'm the NE regional co-commissioner of the national We Feed The UK(opens in new tab) project, working with lead commissioner, The Gaia Foundation, to explore sustainable food production, culminating in the commission of Johannah Churchill.

I'm Coordinator of the UKRI AHRC-supported research networking project Museum Dialogues(opens in new tab), led by Professor of Photography/Curating Alexandra Moschovi, which aims to bring together an international community of researchers, photographers, curators, and museum professionals to discuss the commissioning and collecting of photography.

I've held previous roles at Arts Council England, IPRN (International Photography Research Network), and freelance in the creative industries.