Joanne O'Brien

Joanne O'Brien is an Irish portraiture and documentary photographer, living in the UK. She was a member of the Format photographic agency and her work is held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Life and work

O'Brien grew up in Ireland and studied history in Dublin. She settled in London in the late 1970s and is a self-taught photographer. ^[1] In 1984, she was a founder member of Format, the UK's first women's photographic agency. ^{[2] [3]} In the 1980s, O'Brien extensively recorded protests against nuclear weapons at RAF Greenham Common. ^[4]

Publications

Publications by O'Brien

• A Matter of Minutes, the Enduring Legacy of Bloody Sunday. Merlin, 2002. ISBN   9781903582152. Photographs and interviews.

Publications with others

• Across The Water, Irish Women's Lives in Britain. New York: Little, Brown, 1988. Co-authored with Mary Lennon and Marie McAdam. ISBN   978-0860688747.

Publications with contributions by O'Brien

• Defending Hope, Despatches from the Frontline in Palestine and Israel. Veritas, 2018. Edited by Eoin Murray and James Mehigan. ISBN   978-1847308337.

Zines with contributions by O'Brien

• Format Photographers — Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp 1982–85. Southport: Café Royal, 2023. Edited by Craig Atkinson.

Group exhibitions

• Staying on: Immigrant Communities in London, The Photographers' Gallery, London, November 1984 – January 1985 ^[5]
• Format Photography Agency 1983 – 2003, National Portrait Gallery, London, January–August 2010 ^[6]
• Photographing Protest: Resistance through a Feminist Lens, Four Corners Gallery, London, March–May 2022 ^[4]
• Protest! Photography, Activism and Social Change in Ireland, Gallery of Photography Ireland, Dublin, May–June, 2022 ^{[7] [8]}
• Re/Sisters: a Lens on Gender and Ecology, Barbican Art Gallery, London, October 2023–January 2024 ^[9]
• Women in Revolt!, Tate Britain, London, November 2023 – April 2024, and toured to National Galleries of Scotland, 2024, and The Whitworth, Manchester, 2025 ^[10]
• Look back to look forward: 50 Years of the Irish in Britain, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, Dublin, 2024 ^[11]
• The 80s: Photographing Britain, Tate Britain, London, November 2024–May 2025 ^[12]

Collections

O'Brien's work is held in the following permanent collections:

• Bishopsgate Institute, London (part of the Format archive) ^[13]
• National Portrait Gallery, London ^[14]

References

1. "Editorial Photographers UK - Tony Blair and banana – Joanne O'Brien, 2007". www.epuk.org. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
2. "Format Photographers Agency". Bishopsgate Institute. 2025-08-28. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
3. "Format Photographers women's co-operative". Photoworks. 2023-12-15. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
4. Gilbert, Sarah (2022-03-08). "Photographing protest: resistance through a feminist lens – in pictures". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-08-23.
5. "Staying on: Immigrant Communities in London". thephotographersgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
6. "Format Photography Agency 1983 – 2003". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2025-08-23.
7. "Capturing six decades of protest in Ireland: 'It's important to document these moments. Otherwise we're doomed to repeat history'". Irish Independent. 2022-04-16. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
8. "In The Picture: PROTEST! at the Gallery Of Photography". RTE. 2022-05-31.
9. https://www.barbican.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2023-10/Large-print-guide-v3-16Oct23-FINAL%5B33%5D.pdf
10. https://www.tate.org.uk/documents/1882/TBEXH_0072_Women_In_Revolt_LargePrintGuide_WEB_AW_.pdf
11. "Home". Looking Back to Look Forward | Irish in Britain. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
12. Dench, Peter (2024-11-23). "80s Britain: landmark exhibition presents pivotal moment in photography". Amateur Photographer. Retrieved 2025-08-28.
13. https://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/index.php/actions/tools/tools/download-file?id=188139
14. "Joanne O'Brien". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 2025-08-28.

External links

• Official website