The current Shelterbox photographic exhibition could be the last event to be held at Fox Photo Den – unless a new manager can be found to take the South Lismore venue over.

Current manager Guy Ingram took over running the studio in 2017, but now, due to a family crisis, he said he can’t be tied down to Lismore.

“At the moment, I have to be there for my family and don’t have time to run the venue any more,” Guy said.

“Now, I’m looking for person or a collective to come in and take over the space. Unless someone takes it over, I’ll have to close it down."

Fox Photo Den was set up by local photographer Natsky (Natalie Barovsky) as a gallery and workshop space in February 2016.

Read more news: SUNDAY PROFILE: Natsky - Lismore's candid photographer

Guy took the reins in July 2017 and expanded the gallery's scope to include artworks beyond photography – and art classes have been held there too.

“The building has a conference room and five studios,” Guy said. “It is quite a large space at 34 Union Street - the old Hurford’s site.

“There’s no comparable space in the area. Most other galleries can’t handle large artworks.”

Inside the Fox Photo Den.

“It’s a fully set up space with a professional hanging system and professional lighting. It can accommodate a large crowd - when its allowed again - up to 200 people at an opening. The current maximum crowd is 75.”

If you are interested in taking over from Guy, you can email him at [email protected]

Inside the Fox Photo Den.

Disaster Zone

Guy said a lot of exhibitions had to be cancelled during the Covid closure period, but in good news for the gallery, last week the exhibition ‘ShelterBox :: 2020 Vision: Eyes Wide Open in the Disaster Zone’ opened.

“It was booked in last year, but Covid meant it couldn’t go ahead so it’s taken until now,” Guy said.

“Everyone should come and see the exhibition. It’s a great way to get away from your first world troubles. There’s earthquakes and floods everywhere - we have got it good here.

“When I was hanging the exhibition, I expected to see pictures of disaster and instead I got a tribute to the human spirit.”

Scene from a previous exhibition at Fox Photo Den.

Shelterbox exhibition

The exhibition shows images from Mike Greenslade’s photo book 'ShelterBox :: 2020 Vision: Eyes Wide Open in the Disaster Zone’.

Mike is a photographer and Response Team member with international disaster relief organisation, ShelterBox. ‘2020 Vision’ is a collection of images from his 22 deployments to disaster zones around the world.

From the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti to the little-known refugee crisis in Somaliland, the exhibition and book aim to capture the strength of affected communities, often overlooked by other agencies. ShelterBox believes that no family should go without shelter, following disaster.

Images from the Shelterbox exhibition.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of ShelterBox, the body of work aims to shines a light on some of the 200 plus disasters that ShelterBox has responded to and the more than 1.5 million people helped since 2000.

Mike's thought-provoking work is described as showcasing resilience, determination and hope — even in the darkest of hours, the human spirit shines brightly.

Communities pull together to help one another and organisations like ShelterBox work tirelessly to provide the tools to help them shelter from the elements and rebuild their lives.

The '2020 Vision' book will be available to purchase at the gallery, alongside the exhibited photographs and prints. All proceeds will go to ShelterBox disaster relief. 

The exhibition will show until October 11.

Scene from a previous exhibition at Fox Photo Den.