San Fran, Cork, Dubai, Berlin – catching up with Peggy Sue Amison

The East Wing artistic director shares her insights on non-profits, commercialising photography, and why you don’t need a physical space to nurture talent

After studying photography at San Francisco State University, Peggy Sue Amison moved to Ireland and became artistic director of Sirius Arts Centre from 2001 to 2014. She is now artistic director of East Wing, a platform for international photography founded in Doha in 2012. She recently co-curated LagosPhoto Festival 2023 in Benin and Nigeria, and Future Tense for this year’s Format festival in Derby. Other curatorial projects include In Transit, a group exhibition which toured for two years from 2018. Amison is currently based in Berlin.

I started photographing at punk rock shows, put on by people in my hometown, when I was 17. I was in high school, and sold my photos to the local fanzine, Quasi-Substitute, for 50 cents apiece. That was the beginning of an exciting new life and led me to where I am today. I try to be open to people and ideas, and I feel that’s what we did then. We wanted something different, so we worked together to make it happen.

After graduating with a BA in art, I thought, ‘OK, what the hell do you do with that?’ I took a lot of jobs to pay the rent; first in photo labs and then for advertorial magazines, continuing my photography practice on the side. I think about this time a lot when I work with young artists – I sympathise with them, I know how difficult it is to get started.

At 38, I decided I had to make a break and leave San Francisco. I took a chance and moved to Ireland, initially working in a restaurant washing dishes. I had a few exhibitions of my photography and was later awarded a residency and show at Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh. The day before my exhibition opened, the administrator running the centre asked if I would take over for three months because she was leaving. I stayed for over 13 years, developing a part-time administrative position into a full-time directorship.

It was amazing running a 150-year-old building, the first yacht club in the world, located on Cork Harbour. We continued to run the residency programme, so I was able to bring in artists such as Doug DuBois and Mandy Barker at a time when there were very few photography exhibitions in Ireland. It was a multidisciplinary arts centre, so I could invite musicians and sound artists to play acoustic gigs. We had some magical nights.

“When I was studying photography, there was a lot of emphasis on photography and truth; we now understand there really is no truth in photography”

I got tired of working in a non-profit – it’s exhausting. I wanted to focus on photography, and I also wanted to see what being in a commercial gallery was like. I lived in Dubai for a year, working with East Wing, until I suggested working remotely from Berlin. We closed our physical space in 2018 and have been experimenting with online platforms and pop-up exhibitions since. We recently redesigned our website and are strategising ways to connect social media and Artsy, our main online selling platform. I’m also exploring ways to exhibit East Wing artists outside the digital realm, through shared shows with organisations and festivals.

Our ethos is to provide a platform for discussion that makes audiences think about photography differently. The artists each have a unique perspective, and they all work on deeply researched, long-term projects. When I was studying photography, there was a lot of emphasis on photography and truth; we now understand there really is no truth in photography. It’s more about artists telling their own authentic stories, the narrative structures they choose, and the tools they use to communicate.

I would like to curate more in different types of spaces, creating atmospheres that bring unique experiences. When I review portfolios I often talk about how artists use tools to evoke atmosphere. For example, how cinematography is used in horror films, placing empty space in the frame, creating a sense of anticipation. It’s the same in curation, positioning works in dialogue with each other, lighting them, and allowing the physical space to partner with the works.

You should always be open to new ideas. In every job I ever had, I learned as I went along, starting with photo labs, then for advertorial magazines, and later, when I started working with art organisations. Every day, I learned something new. I’m still learning. I grew up incredibly curious, and I remain incredibly curious today.