Surprised there’s not been more kicking around about this; photographer James Barnor will be doing a Q&A at Westminster Reference Library next month, discussing his life’s work and his first monograph Ever Young which was published last year.
Born in Ghana on the tail end of the 1920’s, Barnor opened his first studio in Accra in 1950. As a photojournalist he pioneered the art of photography 
in the country for almost a decade, capturing not only events and portraits but more importantly Ghana’s transition from colonial rule to independence.
Moving to London right before the swinging sixties started, Barnor relocated to the capital and again found himself located in a shifting scene. With his camera he captured the people and streets of the city as it pushed it’s own boundaries for nearly a decade, responsible for instantly recognisable iconic images from the period.
In 1969, ten years after he left, Barnor returned to Ghana to open the country’s first colour developing lab, where he stayed for over two decades before returning to London in the nineties. It’s hard to believe that despite a lifetime of exhibitions and photojournalism spread across the globe, his first published collection only came to us in 2015.
It’s happening down at Westminster Reference Library, which is usually worth popping in to anyway from memory. It’s free with registration, though there’s limited space so get on it quick and email ever_barnor@outlook.com to get a spot.
More details on the flyer below.
Complete with new writing, an interview with the artist by Francis Hodgson and Margaret Busby, as well as his commentary on selected photos, this book – his first monograph – presents an overview of Barnor’s photography from the late 1940s to his pioneering work in colour of the 1970s.
