Two legendary artists will showcase their extraordinary work at Stirling’s annual Photography Festival which returns for a ninth year next month with the theme of ‘Journey.’
Celebrated music photographer Jill Furmanovsky and veteran fashion photographer and filmmaker Fabrizio Gianni headline the event which features a series of exhibitions, workshops and talks running through August and September.
Jill, who photographed the Oasis 2025 reunion tour, opens her exhibition ‘Rebels and Renegades’ at Tolbooth Stirling on Friday August 14.
Curated by Rock Archive, in association with Street Level Photoworks, it covers her decades of photographing music icons including Stevie Wonder, Amy Winehouse and Annie Lennox plus bands such as The Clash, The Police, Madness, Blondie, Joy Division, Oasis and many more.
Malcolm Dickson, from Street Level Photoworks, said: “It is a pleasure to bring the work of Jill Furmanovsky to the Tolbooth as part of Stirling Photography Festival, who we have partnered with for several years.
“The exhibition includes seminal classic black and white images as well as colour and montage displays from Jill’s extensive collection at Rock Archive, which she founded in 1998. From the eruption of Punk in the 70s, tech-driven pop of the 80s and the collision of cultural forms in the ‘Britpop’ 90s, Jill’s work demonstrates the power of the photographic image as inextricably linked to the value and legacy of the music itself across the decades.”
Stirling Photography Festival Creative Director and founder Janie Meikle Bland said: “We are thrilled to welcome Jill to exhibit at this year’s Stirling Photography Festival! We’ll be hosted by our long-term partners at the Tolbooth Gallery, perfectly set in Stirling’s award-winning music and arts venue in the city’s old town. It’s a summer of music for Stirling, so huge thanks to Malcolm for bringing Jill’s exhibition here – perfect timing!
“Jill’s exhibition will open with an in-conversation event hosted by broadcaster and journalist Nicola Meighan in a fabulous evening of photography, music and chat – we can’t wait!”
Fabrizio’s exhibition ‘Fab! A Life in Cinema and Fashion Photography’ runs from Saturday August 22 to Wednesday September 30 at the Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling.
It features a selection of work from his vast archive following a creative career spanning five decades. The show has been curated in partnership with John Carberry, lecturer at City of Glasgow College where Fabrizio has been a great support to student photographers over the years.
Fabrizio began his working life in the Italian film industry, where he was assistant director on Sergio Leone’s classic ‘The Good the Bad and The Ugly,’ before becoming a world-renowned fashion photographer working with top magazines including Vogue, Elle, GQ and Harper’s Bazaar.
John says of Fabrizio’s work: “Fabrizio Gianni’s images have lost none of their power over time. Elegant, imaginative and deeply human, they capture both the energy of a remarkable era in fashion and the unique vision of an artist whose influence continues to resonate with photographers and audiences today.”
Fabrizio, who lives in Falkirk, is delighted to bring his show to Stirling.
The Festival, which runs for six weeks in total, also features portraits by Stirling-born photographer Margaret Mitchell together with community shots by local photographer Charles McGuigan celebrating Strathcarron Hospice to mark the organisation’s 45th anniversary.
Margaret has worked with the festival over a number of years, this year she will be showing a small preview from her ongoing project, ‘Of Stillness and Care’, made during Strathcarron Hospice’s 45th anniversary.
The touring event, sponsored by The Robertson Trust, previews at the Barracks on Forthside Way in August before moving to Forth Valley Hospital and the Tolbooth at the end of the year. This collaboration reflects the Festival’s long-term values of working with community groups to highlight their aims and build local links.
Also featured on the programme is environmental photographer Ted Leeming whose exhibition ‘Our Place in Time: If Place Mirrors Who We Are, What Does It Reflect?’ goes on show at the Macrobert Arts Centre.
Based in Galloway, Ted is drawn to low-impact projects and place-based explorations of environmental and social relevance. Through his photographic work he aims to start conversations, shift behaviours and influence policy.
Stirling Photography Festival also has a record of wonderful collaborations on multi-art form projects and this year local poet Lynda Gairns will launch a new Poetry Path around Airthrey Loch as part of the programme.
Lynda said: “I was inspired by last year’s festival, where at a workshop during Book Week we used photographs as prompts for poetry. The Poetry Path reverses that idea, placing original poems around the loch to inspire photographers to capture their own unique responses.
“Earlier this year for Stirling’s first Culture Night, Carnival of the Wolf, I worked with photographer Al Dawes and his son Parker, a filmmaker, to create a poetry film about the Wolf Moon. That experience fuelled my idea for the Poetry Path which is a collaboration with poets, Stirling University and local map makers Harvey Maps.
“We will launch the Poetography Workshop at the Festival which will see poets performing their work in situ, creating a unique outdoor gallery where poetry, nature and photography come together! Then we plan to exhibit the photographs they inspire in an exhibition at the University of Stirling Art Collection in 2027.
“After the Festival, the Poetry Path will remain for everyone to enjoy. Visitors can pick up a leaflet from the University’s arts venues, scan a QR code, pop on their headphones and take a walk around the loch losing themselves in the joy of poetry!”
Further Stirling Photography Festival events include sessions with University of Stirling artist in residence Jess Holdengarde and photographer Morwenna Kearsley; an illustrated talk by documentary filmmaker and photographer Chris Leslie; wildlife photography workshops with Roger Stewart and Michael Cook and photowalks led by historian Andy McEwan and archaeologist Dr Murray Cook.
It will be rounded off with a full weekend for analogue lovers in partnership with Wolfcraig Studios and Darkroom.
There will also be exhibitions of local photographers’ work at the Weigh Ahead Gallery in High Street, Dunblane and at Artlink Central in Upper Craigs, Stirling.
And in a first, this year the Festival team are partnering with the Royal Photographic Society and their 2025 Documentary Photography Awards touring exhibition.
This is an international event attracting entries from across the world showcasing a diverse range of exhibits including social documentary, the impact of conflict and war, reflections on history and memory, environmental change, masculinity, austerity, traditional livelihoods, housing, childhood and urbanisation.
Together they provide an insight into the range of what documentary photography can be and how it can be used to tell stories. The winning entries will be exhibited at Stirling’s Smith Art Gallery & Museum from August 17 to September 28. The Smith will also host an event in conjunction with RPS Contemporary Scotland, ‘Developing a Documentary Methodology,’ on August 21.
Janie Meikle Bland said: “The Festival has gone from strength to strength since we started in 2018 with our Stirling Youth Photo Fest. Built by an incredible team of volunteers over the past nine years we have grown our reputation nationally and are now well known for bringing legendary photographers to Stirling, as well as creating opportunities for up and coming artists.
“We are delighted to be a regular fixture in Stirling’s celebrated cultural calendar and as a member of Stirling’s newly launched Culture Collective we are looking forward to a very exciting tenth anniversary next year.”
Stirling Photography Festival’s programme of free events runs from mid-August until the end of September and more details are available on the website – www.stirlingphotographyfestival.co.uk
The Festival is supported by long-term partners The Barracks Conference Centre; Go Forth Stirling BID; the Art Collection at the University of Stirling; The Tolbooth; Macrobert Arts Centre and Artlink Central.
Meanwhile, sponsorship from local businesses has ensured the delivery of an exceptional programme of events and exhibitions. This year’s sponsors include Stirling Aparthotel – who are hosting Jill Furmanovsky at their King Street boutique hotel – and regular sponsors Untitled Barbers Club; the Meadowpark Bar and Kitchen and Vialii Gardens.
Anyone interested in sponsoring the 2026 Festival can download an information pack from the website and contact Janie Meikle Bland via jmeiklebland@hotmail.com
For more details about the festival, visit www.stirlingphotographyfestival.co.uk
