Martin Parr, County Leitrim, Manorhamilton, Lynotts Bar, 1983 - Courtesy of the artist and The Photographers' Gallery.
TITLE_NAME :
A Fair Day
06/02/2026 - 19/04/2026
The Photographers' Gallery
16-18 Ramillies Street
W1F 7LW London
thephotographersgallery.org.uk/
Martin Parr (1952 - 2025, UK) was a close friend and supporter of The Photographers' Gallery. We were working together throughout 2025 on plans to show A Fair Day here. In keeping with his wishes, this exhibition showcases Parr's early-career work in Ireland while honouring his long association with the Gallery. A Fair Day: Photographs from the West of Ireland presents black-and-white photographs made in rural Ireland in the early 1980s.
'Fair days' were occasions for communities to gather for trade, entertainment and religious observance. Many of these special days photographed by Parr are still celebrated each year, preserving a strong sense of community and tradition. For Parr, these gatherings were a chance to capture everyday life, showing a society in transition, where long-standing customs co-exist alongside modern global influences. The photographs show cattle trading, horse fairs, folk musicians and dance halls, alongside new buildings, abandoned Morris Minors and partygoers in '80s fashion. At first glance, many images appear timeless, but a closer look reveals a plastic cup in the Virgin Mary's holy well, or TV aerials creeping into a pastoral scene.
06/02/2026 - 19/04/2026
The Photographers' Gallery
16-18 Ramillies Street
W1F 7LW London
thephotographersgallery.org.uk/
Martin Parr (1952 - 2025, UK) was a close friend and supporter of The Photographers' Gallery. We were working together throughout 2025 on plans to show A Fair Day here. In keeping with his wishes, this exhibition showcases Parr's early-career work in Ireland while honouring his long association with the Gallery. A Fair Day: Photographs from the West of Ireland presents black-and-white photographs made in rural Ireland in the early 1980s.
'Fair days' were occasions for communities to gather for trade, entertainment and religious observance. Many of these special days photographed by Parr are still celebrated each year, preserving a strong sense of community and tradition. For Parr, these gatherings were a chance to capture everyday life, showing a society in transition, where long-standing customs co-exist alongside modern global influences. The photographs show cattle trading, horse fairs, folk musicians and dance halls, alongside new buildings, abandoned Morris Minors and partygoers in '80s fashion. At first glance, many images appear timeless, but a closer look reveals a plastic cup in the Virgin Mary's holy well, or TV aerials creeping into a pastoral scene.