First of all, thank you for your support in 2024 for the inaugural Dark Peak Photo Festival. We had over 3500 visitors across Victoria Hall and The Old Brewery Space, received over 250 applicants for the open call, and displayed photography by 221 photographers across both venues in Glossop. Retail and hospitality businesses also reported a marked increase in footfall on the high street. Additionally, 189 people took part in walks and workshops.

We’ve learned valuable lessons about what worked and what didn’t, including improvements to the open call. This year’s success was achieved without funding, and is credited to the tenacity of the whole team and the kind volunteers who supported us before, during, and after the festival.

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75 businesses supported the festival by displaying photography across High Street and side streets, helping to increase footfall to local shops and hospitality venues over a four-day period in February 2024. The youngest participant in the open call was 10 years old, while the most distant photographer came from Japan.

A cultural takeover was achieved through the cleaning and preparation of an Old Brewery Space, where large-scale photography installations were displayed.

A total of 3,521 visitors were recorded over the four days at the main exhibition sites. Visitors came from Scotland, London, Bristol, Essex, and Switzerland, in addition to local and regional attendees.

While we were unable to precisely track visitor impact across the High Street, it was noted that foot traffic increased in all areas.

We collaborated with the Glossop Arts project to run a pilot participation event and provided Manchester Metropolitan University with a space to showcase work by MA students.

PR was kindly provided by Glossop Creates by Eve Deasley and Shelly Harvey - we thank you them for their tireless vision and assisting getting the message out about the festival you can build an event but if no one attends then you haven’t achieved anything.