Record number of youngsters visit photography festival

QUAD has reported that a record number of young people attended this year’s FORMAT International Photography Festival.

It said that more than 1,100 youngsters from schools and colleges across the country came to Derby to attend exhibitions during the festival, which took place in March and April.

They attended the event, which took place during term time, as part of organised education visits.

Education visits came from as far as Lincoln, Birmingham and West Midlands, Manchester, Leeds, Bolton and North Wales, as well as Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire.

As well as educational talks, tours and guides, events included several digital photography workshops and a family Easter egg hunt.

This year’s festival, entitled FORMAT23, included 27 exhibitions in 15 venues across Derby, Derbyshire and Leicester.

Among the exhibitions on display at QUAD, Young FORMAT was an exhibition of work by 140 artists and curators aged from six to twenty-five, from QUAD Schools in Residence and Burton & South Derbyshire College and various QUAD young people’s groups.

The festival has since received positive feedback from the schools and colleges who visited.

James Cunliffe, academic co-ordinator at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College, said: “We were given a really warm welcome from everyone at all of the exhibitions we visited.

“It was great for some of our students to see their work exhibited at QUAD too as part of Young FORMAT – what a privilege! It’s such a great festival and we feel very lucky to have been able to visit.”

Shaun Bunting, from Pear Tree Community Junior School, said: “We had a wonderful afternoon exploring FORMAT Festival with lots of proud Pear Tree Junior children who were overjoyed to see their portraits on display.”