Alejandra Carles-Tolra is a visual artist, educator and participatory photography facilitator from Barcelona based in London. Questions regarding what defines our identities and the role the group plays in our search for belonging drives her work.
Her work has been exhibited and published internationally at institutions such as the National Portrait Gallery (UK) Photo Miyota (Japan), The Guardian, FotoFever (Paris), Somerset House (UK), Finnish Museum of Photography, Wuhan Art Museum (China), PhotoEspaña and the Jerwood/ Photoworks Awards. It is also part of the Arts Council Collection (UK) and the Col·lecció Nacional de Fotografía of Catalunya (Spain).
As an educator she designs resources, teaches courses and facilitates creative workshops for a range of institutions including Autograph Gallery, University College of London, The Photographer’s Gallery, Alexandra Palace, Portsmouth University, Photoworks, MIND Charity, Create and NorthEastern University. She has a strong commitment to using photography as a voice and tool of empowerment and collaborates regularly with non profit organisations running participatory photography workshops for vulnerable communities from diverse backgrounds.
2021 Championness, Outdoor Exhibition of The Bears at Trocadero, Curated by Fetart, Paris, France 2021 InTrance Festival, Outdoor Exhibition of The Bears, Galatina city in Puglia, Italy 2021 Sunderland Museum, Where We Are Now, Works from Arts Council Collection 2021 Firstsite, Art for Life, Works from Arts Council Collection 2021 Beningbrough National Trust, The Art of Wellbeing, Works from ACCollection 2020 Courtauld Institute, Unquiet Moments: Capturing the Everyday, ACCollection 2019 Asama International Photography Festival, Miyota, Japan 2019 The Finnish Museum of Photography, Transeurope Exhibition, Helsinki, Finland 2019 Benaki Museum, Athens Photo Festival, Greece 2019 Somerset House, Generations: Connecting Across Time + Place, Courtauld Institute,UK 2019 Photo Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel 2018 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, London, UK 2018 Futures Talent Pool, Unseen Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands 2018 Sisterhood & Gentle Men by C.Wildberger & M.Paulenka, Forum Stadtpark, Austria 2018 Group show, PhotoEast Festival, Curated by Emma Bowkett and Josh Lustig, Ipswich, UK 2018 Jerwood / Photoworks Awards, Jerwood Gallery London Space and Travelling Exhibition, UK 2017 On Drawing: Apperceive of Liberation, Wuhan Art Museum, China 2016 Renaissance Photography Awards, Getty Images Gallery, London, UK 2016 Festival Circulation(s), Centquatre, Paris, France
Selected Awards / Nominations
2021 UCL Trellis Project, Selected for Stage 2, UK 2021 London Creative Network, Space Studios, Professional Development for Artists, UK 2020 Work acquired to become part of the Col·lecció Nacional de Fotografia, Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain 2019 Winner, The Washington Post Open Call for Photographers, Organised with Visura, USA 2018 Work acquired to become part of the Arts Council Collection, UK 2018 Selected for Futures Photography by PhotoEspaña 2017 Jerwood Visual Arts / Photoworks Award, Sponsored by the Arts Council England, UK 2017 Flash Forward, UK Winners, Magenta Foundation 2015 Semifinalist, Outwin Boochever Competition, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian, DC, USA 2015 New York Times Portfolio Review, Selected Portfolio, USA 2015 Joop Swart Masterclass, World Press Photo, Nominated Portfolio, Amsterdam
Selected Press
2022 The Point Magazine, Fall In cover image 2021 Glorious Sport, Redefining Rugby, The Bears 2021 Photoworld China, Where We Belong 2021 Tampon Magazine, France, The Bears, 2020 UNESCO Courier, A whole new world, reimagined by women, The Light Coming In 2020 Lenscratch, Spanish Week, Where We Belong 2019 Unseen Platform, Where We Belong 2019 Refinery 29, The Seductive World of Jane Austen Super-Fans, Where We Belong 2019 Literary Hub, Documenting Jane Austen Cosplay, Where We Belong 2019 IMA Magazine, Where We Belong (Cover) 2019 In Sight - The Washington Post, Where We Belong 2019 El País, Where We Belong 2019 6 Mois Magazine, Where We Belong 2018 Lensculture, Where We Belong by Sophie Wright 2018 The Guardian, Regency rendezvous: inside the world of Jane Austen fandom 2018 Foto Room, Alejandra Introduces Us to the Imaginative World of Jane Austen’s Biggest Fans 2018 Arts Council Collection, 2017/2018 Acquisitions 2016 Vice Magazine - Broadly, The Guts and the Glory of Being on an All-Female Sports Team 2016 GUP Magazine, #50 Hidden Gems, The Bears Portfolio 2016 The Independent, Women's varsity rugby: Getting up close with The Bears 2016 L’Oeil de la Photographie, Circulation(s) 2016: Interview with Alejandra Carles-Tolra 2016 Lensculture, Video Interview - The Bears: Up close with women’s rugby 2016 World Photography Organization, Saving Face Portfolio 2016 i-D Vice Magazine, 5 young european photographers to follow 2016 It’s Nice That, Alejandra Carles-Tolra captures a women’s rugby team from all angles 2016 Time Out Madrid, PhotoEspaña 2016: Exposiciones Imprescindibles, No Words Exhibition 2016 World Photography Organization, As Playful As A Game, Interview and The Bears Portfolio 2016 La Fabrica Editorial, Contemporaries. 30 Photographers Of Today (Book) 2016 Slate Magazine, What Life Is Like on Brown University’s All-Female Rugby Team, The Bears 2016 The Huffington Post, Powerful Photo Series - What It's Like To Be A Rugby Girl, The Bears 2015 CNN Photos, Study and serve: The dual identity of the ROTC, Fall In Portfolio
Lectures
2022 Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Artist Talk 2021 Southbank Center, Arts Council Collection, National Partners Programme, Artist Talk 2021 PhotoEspaña, Como ser fotógrafa, Artist Talk 2021 Photoworks Photography Club, Artist Talk with young photographers 2021 The Littlehampton Academy, Artist Talk on exhibiting outdoors for the Corridor Project 2020 University of Brighton, Artist Talk and Workshop, Socially Engaged Practices 2020 Somerset House, Courtauld Institute, Generations: Connecting Across Time + Place 2018-20 University of Portsmouth, Visiting Artist, Photography department, Portsmouth, UK 2020 George Monoux College, Artist Talk for Autograph Gallery 2020 Caleidoscopio, Visiting Artist, Programme for Young Photographers, Pais Vasco, Spain 2019 UCLan, Visiting Artist, Fieldwork Photography Conference, Lancashire, UK 2018 London College of Communication, Visiting Artist, Photography department, London, UK 2018 Belfast Exposed Gallery, Artist Talk, Jerwood/ Photoworks Awards, Belfast, UK 2018 Impressions Gallery, In conversation with Shoair Mavlian, Director of Photoworks, UK 2018 Jerwood Space, Conversation with K.McQuaid, Curator at The Photographer’s Gallery, UK 2015 Rhode Island School of Design, Visiting Artist, Photography department, Providence, USA 2015 Rhode Island College, Visiting Artist, Art department, Providence, USA 2014 Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Visiting Critic, Photography Department, USA 2014 University of New Hampshire, Visiting Artist Lecture, Paul Creative Arts Center, Durham, USA 2013 Universitat de Barcelona, Visiting Artist Lecture, Sociology Department, Barcelona, Spain
Education 2013 MFA, Photography Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, USA 2010 BA, Sociology Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Alejandra Carles-Tolra
Spanish photographer Alejandra Carles-Tolra resides in London. Her work examines individual and group identity, and how the latter shapes the former.