Bristol Museum x Bristol Photo Festival

Bristol Photo Festival is an international biennial bringing together leading photographic voices from across the world. Its 2021 edition saw photographer Lua Ribeira take up residence at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery as part of Beyond the Frame. A landmark exhibition in which three female artists created interventions within the museum's own collection, placing their work in direct conversation with historic and modern art.

Ribeira's contribution, Craving Gaps, moved between the Renaissance and modern galleries. Each of her photographs paired directly with a specific work from the museum's permanent collection. Placed alongside Old Masters, Pre-Raphaelites, and abstract paintings, her images challenged the stories those spaces have historically told about identity, power, and who gets to be seen. It was bold, considered, and quietly political.

Our job was to frame her work in a way that didn't interrupt that conversation. With each photograph displayed in such close proximity to works from the museum's own collection, the framing had to feel contemporary without feeling out of place. Working to a clean, considered brief, we produced a series of modern white frames that allowed Ribeira's photography to hold its own against centuries of collected art.

Beyond the Frame ran at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery in 2021 as part of Bristol Photo Festival, drawing significant critical attention and public footfall. A creative platform with exhibitions across Bristol, that we are proud to have played a small part in.

Images © Louis Little