The Photographers’ Gallery opened on 14 January 1971 in a converted Lyons tea bar at 8 Great Newport Street, Covent Garden, as the UK’s first public gallery dedicated to photography. Its founder, Sue Davies, directed it until 1991.
The opening exhibition, The Concerned Photographer, was curated by Cornell Capa and brought together work by Werner Bischof, Robert Capa and André Kertész.
Ramillies Street
In May 2012 the gallery moved to 16–18 Ramillies Street in Soho, a former textiles warehouse reworked by the Irish architects O’Donnell + Tuomey. The five-storey building holds exhibition space on three floors, along with an education studio, a café, a bookshop and a print sales gallery.
Programme
The gallery set up its photography prize in 1996. Known as the Citigroup Photography Prize between 1997 and 2004, it has carried the Deutsche Börse name since 2005. Andreas Gursky, Juergen Teller and Dana Lixenberg are among its winners.
Talks, TPG Lates, learning activities and an archive run alongside the exhibitions. Outside, the Soho Photography Quarter on Ramillies Place shows free open-air exhibitions. Shoair Mavlian has led the gallery since January 2023, succeeding Brett Rogers.
The autumn 2026 programme pairs Sanlé Sory: Colour Years with William Eggleston: All that goes unnoticed, both on view from 14 October 2026 to 21 February 2027.
Location: Soho, London, United Kingdom
Address: 16–18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW, United Kingdom
Website: thephotographersgallery.org.uk
Instagram: @thephotographersgallery
