Royal Photographic Society (RPS) moving to Bristol ?

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MidnightUK

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I have been told the RPS has acquired a building in the Paintworks area of central Bristol and will be moving or part moving there from Bath.

If this info is correct, it looks a nice building with potential for gallery space, which would be a massive improvement over the almost non existent display space and cramped office they have in Bath, so I hope this rumour is correct.

The new building is supposed to be a few yards from the new Martin Parr Foundation centre and gallery.
 
Love to join the RPS but moneys an issue at the moment. And my work wouldn't be good enough anyway.
 
LouiseTopp said:
And my work wouldn't be good enough anyway.
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I am not a member. I dont think you have to have work of any particular standard to join, I think doing the 'panels' to get the temporary awards is entirely optional and not required.

I looked at joining a few years back but thought them very poor value for money - until this new move they as a body representing photography have been apathetic and lazy about numerous things. Infrequent exhibitions, poor office / training centre where you had to buzz to even go in when returning from a break in a course. Lack of nation wide courses, almost everything was in Bath or immediate to it, which seemed weird to me given membership is UK wide. Lots of snobbery. Courses that only covered 'art' and ignored commercial requirements (thats changed a little over the last few years at long last, but not changed enough!). Poor organisation - I have asked to go on waiting lists for courses (along with others) and then found the courses were 'full up' as no one on the list was informed or enrolled when spaces appeared, happened several times so I stopped bothering.

To be honest, you are possibly not missing much. Some of the courses they do bother to run are actually very good and you dont have to be a member to attend them anyway. I would put your possible membership money to just attending a course there every year or so.

I sincerely hope they improve once at the new premises and that it is a sign of some retreat of their apathy. Paintworks is a very trendy area, lots of media and related businesses and a film studio, expensive housing as well, so I guess the tone will still be firmly 'upmarket'. It will be interesting to see if they put on exhibitions if they do so for free, as Martin Parrs Foundation a few yards from them seems to be doing (well done Mr Parr, for opening art to all).
 
MidnightUK said:
Thanks for the confirmation, really good news. Did they say anything about any plans for gallery, shops, training centre or anything like that?
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I'll have to check the journal later when I get home. The plans look rather good though. I've never been to the current HQ in Bath, but a few that I know who have been were not impressed.

There's very little on the RPS website about it, which is somewhat disappointing, just this http://www.rps.org/special-interest...new-rps-hq---a-personal-story-now-can-be-told
 
viewfromthenorth said:
I'll have to check the journal later when I get home. The plans look rather good though. I've never been to the current HQ in Bath, but a few that I know who have been were not impressed.
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Thats kind. If you are able to post any additional information I would be very interested in it.



viewfromthenorth said:
There's very little on the RPS website about it, which is somewhat disappointing
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Well, given from past behaviour how 'enthusiastic' and 'organised' I have found them as a body, I am not in the least bit surprised, why get themselves any positive publicity that might engage the general public? It once again has a bit of a them and us feel instead of engagement or getting people to join in, share and have a broad vibrant community.

I have in the past really wanted to support the RPS but they let themselves down time after time. Its very frustrating. I really hope the move has a positive effect on them and they dont just fall back as an entity into the 'entitled and cant really be bothered to make much effort' scenario. Its the management, not the members or the sub groups I have issue with. I would love for RPS to engage with the photographic community in more positive and active ways.
 
MidnightUK said:
Well, given from past behaviour how 'enthusiastic' and 'organised' I have found them as a body, I am not in the least bit surprised, why get themselves any positive publicity that might engage the general public? It once again has a bit of a them and us feel instead of engagement or getting people to join in, share and have a broad vibrant community.

I have in the past really wanted to support the RPS but they let themselves down time after time. Its very frustrating. I really hope the move has a positive effect on them and they dont just fall back as an entity into the 'entitled and cant really be bothered to make much effort' scenario. Its the management, not the members or the sub groups I have issue with. I would love for RPS to engage with the photographic community in more positive and active ways.
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To true!
I once made the effort to visit the offices in Bath to introduce myself and renew my annual subscription (1st renewal) ... they were obviously doing me a favour in letting me in and accepting my renewal, their interest in me was completely nil and I was obviously an unfortunate interruption to their day, I never renewed again.
 
gramps said:
I never renewed again
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I dont bother with the courses any more either. :-(

They went through a nasty phase of cancelling about 7 days before a course, even if you had signed up months before and they had held the money for said months. Booking time off, travel arrangements (I am lucky its fairly close but people come from quite some distance on trains), travel costs (don't book travel in advance, if they cancel the course you cant claim the travel money you have put out). It was particularity galling as they would claim the course was not full so could not be run, yet I had myself missed multiple courses as despite putting my name on the waiting list, as was never told the courses I wanted had started taking bookings . I cannott help but wonder if the cancelled courses had a list of somewhere of of people who had wanted to attend but were forgotten about...

I got too tired in the end of the RPS thinking it was nothing to them if they wasted my time and hopes while tying up sometimes a few hundred pounds in course fees for events that never ran..
 
LouiseTopp said:
Love to join the RPS but moneys an issue at the moment. And my work wouldn't be good enough anyway.
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You send them money and they send you your membership card. You are required to be interested in photography, not good at it.
 
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