Image credit: Tim Mitchell

The first festival of contemporary photography in north-east England is set to bring together works of up-and-coming photographers and visual artists from around the world.

Developed by the North East Photography Network, the festival explores contemporary global concerns while simultaneously charting the technological developments that have taken place in photography and other visual media in recent years.

An enormous amount of upcoming talent has been assembled for the festival. Among the names is Tim Mitchell, with his series ‘Fish Out of Water’ (pictured above) that follows the dismantling of a 20,000-tonne military ship at Liverpool docks.

Also on display is the work of ex-soldier Craig Ames, whose projects dig into the psychology of the modern military. His ‘Kill Zones’ series includes photographic prints of landscapes used for military simulation events.

Image credit: Craig Ame, ‘Terrorist Cell Takeout, County Durham’ 2013

Locations include the Durham Art gallery, the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art and many others.

The Social: Encountering Photography from October 18 to November 16, 2013. For details, visit www.thesocialnepn.co.uk.