Sean O'Hagan is an Irish writer for The Guardian and The Observer , his specialty being photography.
O'Hagan was brought up in Armagh, Northern Ireland, during "The Troubles", and has written about the experience. [1] [2] [3] As an undergraduate, he studied English in London. [4]
He began his media career as a writer for NME , [5] The Face and Arena , and during this period became interested in photography. [6] As of 2013, he is one of six regular "Art and design" critics for The Guardian website, and the only photography critic among the six. [7]
O'Hagan is a nominator for the Prix Pictet Award in photography and sustainability. [n 1]
The term "new lad" was coined by O'Hagan in a 1993 article in Arena. [8] [9] [10]
On 18 March 2003, O'Hagan received the 2002 British Press Award for Interviewer of the Year. [11] [n 2] In 2011, O'Hagan was the sole recipient of the J. Dudley Johnston Award [n 3] from the Royal Photographic Society "for major achievement in the field of photographic criticism". [12]