Kate launches national exhibition for lockdown photographic project
THE DUCHESS of Cambridge celebrated the launch of her Hold Still photographic exhibition by meeting a volunteer featured in one of the pictures on display.
Kate was joined by husband William when they travelled to Waterloo in south London to view one of the public exhibition sites for the Duchess’s project which challenged the public to document life under lockdown with a camera or smartphone.
The couple met Sami Massalami Mohammed Elmassalami Ayad, a volunteer at a community food hub in Hackney who featured in one of the portraits displayed at the site – Sami – by Grey Hutton.
Kate and a panel of judges selected 100 images from more than 31,000 entries for the Hold Still exhibition, which was launched with the National Portrait Gallery in May.
People of all ages across the UK were invited to submit a photograph which they had taken during lockdown, and in the six weeks that the project was open 31,598 images were submitted.
Hold Still focused on three themes – helpers and heroes, your new normal and acts of kindness – with the final 100 tackling subjects including family life in lockdown, the work of healthcare staff and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Kate and William later travelled to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in central London to speak to frontline workers including Joyce Duah, a specialist oncology pharmacist at the hospital, whose photograph –
All In This Together – was selected as one of the final portraits.
The couple also chatted to the pharmacist’s two colleagues, Amelia Chowdhury and Dipal Samuel, who feature in the photograph.
Photographic portraits from the Hold Still exhibition have gone on show in 80 towns, cities and areas across the UK, bringing the stories of individuals and families during lockdown back to their communities.
The community exhibition will see the 100 portraits exhibited for four weeks on billboard and outdoor poster sites, including bus stops, high streets and outside train stations.
A LONG- RUNNING row over the cost of online meetings at Harrogate Borough Council has resurfaced following an investigation by the UK’s data watchdog.
In January, an idea to broadcast meetings online from the authority’s headquarters was shut down by councillors who claimed it would have been too expensive.
Council leader Richard Cooper said it would have cost “tens of thousands of pounds”, although the actual figures were never made public. His claim prompted Harrogate resident Jerry Diccox to submit a Freedom of Information request, which was initially rejected by the council due to “commercial sensitivity” reasons.
However, the rejection was overturned by Information Commissioner’s Office and it is now known the council received three quotes for streaming its meetings, ranging from just over £ 5,000 to nearly £ 48,000.
Mr Diccox has accused the authority of “behaving like a secret state” and questioned how it could justify its decision to reject online meetings as “reasonable” without revealing the costs.
Due to the pandemic, meetings are currently being held remotely and streamed on YouTube using simple software.
Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred – who suggested live streaming face- to- face meetings – called for a rethink when normal meetings return.
Coun Cooper said he believed the council had followed a correct process on withholding quotes, but he accepted the watchdog’s decision. He said that although the council was currently broadcasting meetings where all the participants were in their homes, this was “a long way” from the previously costed proposals.
Hold Still had three themes – helpers and heroes, your new normal and acts of kindness.