Photographers Panel Discussion: Documenting People and Places

What does it mean to document a community through periods of social and urban change? And how do photographers build relationships with the people and places they photograph?

Join us for a special panel discussion bringing together three documentary photographers whose work spans decades of social, cultural and industrial change in the North East and London.

Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen, Paul Trevor and Pete Robinson will explore their approaches to photographing people and places, from long-term relationships with communities to the responsibilities of representing lives beyond their own.

Drawing on their experiences of documenting Byker, London's East End and the North Shields fishing industry, the conversation will consider how photographers respond to changing environments, the importance of trust and collaboration, and the role photographs play in shaping how communities are remembered and understood.

The event is part of Side's exhibition Under Development: What Happens When Cities Change?, which brings together more than 50 years of documentary photography exploring urban redevelopment, community and collective action across Tyneside and East London.

The discussion will be followed by an opportunity for questions from the audience.

Meet the photographers

Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen

Finnish-born documentary photographer and co-founder of Amber Film & Photography Collective. Best known for her long-term documentation of working-class communities in the North East, her landmark projects Byker and Step by Step explore everyday life, community and the impact of urban redevelopment. Her work forms part of the UNESCO-recognised AmberSide Collection, and she was awarded an MBE in 2025.

Paul Trevor

British social documentary photographer whose work has documented working-class life in London since the 1970s, particularly around Brick Lane and the East End. A co-founder of the Exit Photography Group and a key figure behind Camerawork magazine, Trevor is known for his direct, human approach to street photography. His work is held in major collections including the V&A and Tate Britain.

Pete Robinson

Award-winning North East documentary and commercial photographer. After beginning his career as an RAF military photographer, Pete has spent more than a decade documenting the region's maritime heritage. His ongoing project Harvest from the Deep explores the North Shields fishing community, capturing the people, working practices and changing conditions of an industry central to the town's identity.