Exhibition: “Still in Summer” at Float Café
Something a little different today, I thought I would share some information about a London Street Photography exhibition, running throughout August at Float Café, just at the top of Brick Lane. I also spent some time with the exhibition organiser and photographer Mark Luke Grant, who kindly provided background as well as all of the photos for this blog post.
“Still in Summer” is the third of a planned four-part exhibition, with each focusing on a season in London. No prizes for guessing what the fourth instalment will be. The summer season includes 33 photos from 33 different street photographers, all nicely framed and mounted on the walls of the Float Café in Shoreditch (I can also recommend the cookies).
I never seem to be free for the launch nights but this time I was, so I headed over to Float to see the exhibition early and to catch up with everyone. One thing that always surprises me (even though it shouldn’t by now) is how you think you probably know most of the London Street photographers but in reality, I’m not even scratching the surface. There were plenty of people there that I didn’t know including some names exhibiting that I didn’t recognise. Always good to meet new people!
Yup, I didn’t think I’d need a video so I only have this Instagram story download
The exhibition flows along the left-hand side of the café until you get into the room at the back, where it encompasses all the walls. A little difficult to see everything on a busy launch night but I did return a few days later to take it all in. It’s nice to see a mix of styles, perspectives and colours from different photographers, all anchored to the summer in London.
The only question for me is if the framing choice was the correct one, perhaps it was due to the time of the day but the glare from the lights did make some of the images a little difficult to take in properly. Not really a big problem but it does highlight one of the many challenges and considerations to be made when exhibiting. Always compromises to be made.
To highlight a couple of images that stood out for me are these two, one from Ruben “The Nerdy Cow” Nelson and one from Le “Wild Dogs Worldwide”.
Click through to see Ruben’s instagram page
Click through to see Le’s instagram page
If you’re in London before the end of August, I highly recommend dropping into Float. Grab a coffee, try the cookies and 33 different perspectives of London’s summertime.
That’s enough from me, let’s hand over to Mark, who pulled this exhibition together.
Mark Luke Grant, photo nicked off his website
AR: Hey Mark, congrats on another successful exhibition! How did it all start? What were your initial thoughts about the idea?
MLG: Thanks! It really started quite organically. I’d done a few exhibitions in the past—mainly for graphic designers and illustrators, since I work as a freelance designer by day. Over time, I got to know a lot of street photographers in the London scene and realised there wasn’t much happening when it came to showing work physically—off screen, in a space, with people. I felt like there was a gap. I wanted to help fill it and give something back to a community I love.
AR: That’s great. Was it a lot of hard work to get off the ground?
MLG: Yeah I think the main hurdle was finding a space to show the pictures. I’d got to know the people at Float and their sister cafe Holy Shot during lockdown (remember when we only were allowed one walk a day? Mine was to get coffee) and managed to convince them to allow me to use the space for an exhibition. I put on the first one “Still In Sight” with a small group of photographers at the end of 2024 and it spurred the idea to do more.
AR: What is behind the title “still in sight?” and how did you find the first group of photographers to participate?
MLG: I really like the use of double meanings in a title - I’ve used this idea a couple of times for previous photo projects (Inviting Light, Extra Ordinary) so felt it worked really well. Also the ability to tweak the title to have a different meaning depending on the project gives it a bit of flexibility and helps keep it under the same umbrella.
In regard to the photographers for the first show, it was quite literally folks I’d met out on the street and through photography meet ups (shout out to Framelines). I asked them if they were up for being involved and they said yes!
AR: The name does work well and big up to framelines, I’ve been a fan of Josh and Shane’s work for a long time (Shane is the first “YouTube” person I met on the street). How have things progressed from the first season, winter? Was cool to see Alan Schaller at the spring season.
MLG: Yeah those guy are cool, and always supportive in helping to spread the word for the shows. Things are going well since the first show. I think the most satisfying thing is seeing the community build for each one - familiar faces and new ones coming to the openings and chatting to folks they follow on Instagram, putting a face to the work we see online is always great.
AR: Completely agree. I think Instagram for us is becoming less relevant as a way of showing our work and becoming more of a way to contact each other. To get into the nitty gritty a bit, how did the curation work for the images on display?
MLG: Yeah and I think if you’re not too careful it can shape the way you shoot as a photographer. There’s definitely a formula that works for likes and engagement and imagery with a lot going on in the frame or with small details - doesn’t work so well on a tiny screen.
For the curation I worked with each photographer individually to choose an image. I had oversight on everyone’s work so would go over some options with each person and discuss what would fit best as a whole.
AR: I bet discussing with everyone took a lot of time! Another tricky topic is usually the printing. How did you decide on how to print and where did you get it done? How did you balance having framing (cost & glare) vs. other options?
MLG: Yeah it took quite some time, but I really enjoy that part of it. In regard to printing - I used a printer who I had a relationship with and knew they would be able to deliver on time, to a good standard and not cost an arm and a leg.
AR: Was there a lot of consideration as to the sequencing or placement of images in the exhibition?
MLG: Oh yeah always. Each one was placed depending on content, colour, subject etc. You’ll notice in the current (summer) one we have a “water feature” section at the back of the space. In the zines I usually try to order the images to play out as the season does - for example the start is an image of summer solstice and the last one kinda feels like the end of the summer/ going into Autumn.
AR: That’s great. I spotted the water section for sure! So what’s next after the final autumn season? Can anyone else get involved?
MLG: I’m sort of a little torn whether or not to do something with the seasonal show(s) past autumn. Part of me loves the idea of taking the whole thing to a bigger space or gallery; part of me thinks “That’s been done now – time to try something new.” Either way, Still In Street isn’t going anywhere. I’ve got a bunch of ideas for new exhibitions, zines, books, and ways to involve as many photographers as possible. There are so many folks I’ve met recently – people making brilliant work and coming to the shows – who I really want to include. So, let’s see where it goes!
AR: Thanks for all the insight mark, I won’t take any more of your time. Is there anything you’d like to add?
MLG: No worries, thank you for reaching out Adam and also thanks to everyone that’s been involved, that come to the shows and supports what I’m doing.