Biography, Awards, and Exhibitions
Selected Recent Awards, Grants, Residencies:
Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture, USA, 2023
Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Photographic Society, 2023
The Orwell Prize: Special Award for ‘Exposing Britain’s Social Evils’, 2023
Photographer of the Year, SONY World Photography Awards, 2021
Kick Down the Barriers residency for BANK TOP, Blackburn, 2019-2020
UK Arts Council Grant: Fisherwomen, 2019
FCBarcelona Photo Award 2017
UK Arts Council Grant: Sixteen, 2017
Taylor Wessing Awards, National Portrait Gallery, London, 2017
Sony World Photography Awards 2017
Winner, Travel Photographer of the Year Portfolio Award 2016/17
Left Coast, Blackpool residency for ‘Thatcher’s Children’, 2018
Overall Winner, Worldwide Travel Photographer of the Year 2012/13
Association of Photographers Awards 2012/2016/2017
Winner, Travel Photographer of the Year, ‘Homeland’ Category, 2009
Selected Recent Exhibitions:
2023
RETURN TO MINGULAY - Wardlaw Museum, St. Andrews, Scotland
BANK TOP - The Griffin Museum of Photography, Massachusetts, USA
FISHERWOMEN - Shetland Museum and Archives, Lerwick, Shetland
IS ANYBODY LISTENING? - Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool
HOMELESS - Aylesbury Waterside and High Wycombe Arts Centre
2022
BANK TOP - Somerset House, London
FISHERWOMEN - Oriel Colwyn, Wales
2021
FISHERWOMEN - DATMA, New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA
FISHERWOMEN - Time & Tide Museum, Great Yarmouth
SIXTEEN, Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland - The Scottish Maritime Museum, Irvine
2020
BANK TOP - Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery
ART & BOHEMIA, Dellasposa Gallery, London
SIXTEEN - London: Southbank public realm, Photofusion Gallery, RK Burt Gallery
2019
SIXTEEN – Belfast Exposed
FISHERWOMEN – Hull Maritime Museum
SIXTEEN – Tate Gallery Liverpool
SIXTEEN – FORMAT International Photography Festival, Derby
FISHERWOMEN – Montrose Museum & Art Gallery
2018
SIXTEEN – National Portrait Gallery, London, Taylor Wessing
SIXTEEN – Somerset House, London, Sony WPA
2017
SIXTEEN – Museu Agbar, Barcelona, Spain
Craig Easton’s work is deeply rooted in the documentary tradition. He shoots long-term documentary projects exploring issues around social policy, identity, culture and community. Known for his intimate portraits and expansive landscape, his work regularly combines these elements with reportage approaches to storytelling, often working collaboratively with others to incorporate words, pictures and audio in a research-based practice that weaves a narrative between contemporary experience and history.
In 2021, Easton was awarded the prestigious title of Photographer of the Year at the SONY World Photography Awards and in 2022 was recognised with an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society.
He has published three monographs - Thatcher’s Children, GOST Books, 2023; Bank Top, GOST Books, 2022 and Fisherwomen, Ten O’Clock Books, 2020.
A passionate believer in working collaboratively with others, Easton conceived and led the critically acclaimed SIXTEEN project with sixteen leading photographers exploring the hopes, ambitions and fears of sixteen-year-olds all around the UK. This Arts Council funded project was exhibited in over 20 exhibitions throughout 2019/2020 culminating in three simultaneous shows in London.
Easton is a regular visiting lecturer at universities and runs workshops both in the UK and internationally.
His prints are widely collected by private individuals & corporations and are held in important museum collections and archives including the FC Barcelona collection, the St. Andrews University Special Collections, Hull Maritime Museum and Salford University Art Collection.
In addition to his personal documentary and art projects, he continues to shoot for editorial & advertising clients worldwide. Advertising and commercial clients include: The National Health Service, Visit Britain, Land Rover, Heathrow Airport, Wagamama, Mazda, John Lewis etc.