Rugby photographer talks at RAMM

In a lunchtime talk at Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum on Wednesday 14 October, award-winning photographer Michelle Sank will reveal the extraordinary, and sometimes humorous, stories behind the images in her Touch-Line exhibition.

Touch-Line (in Gallery 20 until 4 November) shows Michelle Sank’s images of the preparation, delivery and enjoyment of Rugby World Cup 2015 games. Urban and rural landscapes complement portraiture to give a comprehensive visual record of the preparation for the Rugby World Cup in Exeter. The photographs of players, spectators and fans reflect the diversity of interest and importance of Rugby in Exeter’s communities.

Michelle Sank’s photographs have been exhibited and published nationally and internationally in major galleries and magazines. Winner of the National Portrait Gallery’s 2007 Photographic Portrait Prize, a Unicef award in 2012 and Gold in the 2013 San Francisco International Photographic Exhibition Awards, she has undertaken commissions for prominent organisations including The Photographers' Gallery, London, Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, Belfast Exposed, Northern Ireland and Rakyo Photo Center, San Francisco. She has three published books to date and is a Senior Lecturer in Photographer at Falmouth University, Cornwall.

The one-hour talk starts at 1pm and will explore her journey photographically with reference to earlier projects. Free tickets are available online or from the museum reception in person or by phone using a credit or debit card on 01392 265858 during opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm. Michelle Sank’s books are on sale in the museum shop.

Touch-Line is supported by the National Lottery through Grants for the arts and Exeter City Council’s RWC 2015 Exeter Legacy Fund. Administered by Arts Council England, Grants for the arts support activities which engage people in arts activities and help artists and arts organisations carry out their work.