The Velvet Cell Magazine

The Velvet Cell‘ is a photography magazine that is dedicated specifically to urban photography. We are interested in photography which finds beauty in the conventionally ugly and challenges the commercial norms. It was born from a frustration at how little this genre of photography is represented in official circles. Often, there is a sociological undercurrent to the works on display, with themes of urban alienation, industrialisation and more being discussed by the artists.

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© Andrew Mace

I moved to London in early 2009 and settled in East London. My early days were spent exploring the urban and industrial characteristics of this area with my camera. The East is well known for its industrial character… areas like Stratford and Hackney Wick are prominent examples of this. It is a world away from places like Kensington and Chelsea, but I fell for its neglected aura. It developed within me a passion for urban photography that I have tried to give a platform for with ‘The Velvet Cell’ magazine.
To date the magazine has featured photographers from Iceland, USA, New York, Berlin, Austria, Sweden and elsewhere. It is truly international and seeks to unite those who share a common interest.

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© Remi Thornton and previously featured on Oitzarisme

What does the future hold? I would love one day for ‘The Velvet Cell’ to grow into a fully fledged publishing house, specialising, of course, in urban photography. Though I want to keep the magazine online and free, as it is completely accessible to all in this format, the next step is to begin publishing small, limited-edition zines, from some of the artists involved in the magazine. The first two in the pipeline are zines featuring the photography of Sander Meisner (Issue Six) and Decode/Thomas Albdorf (Issue Five). ‘The Velvet Cell Publishing’ will be available at thevelvetcell.com soon.

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Enjoy!

Éanna de Fréine, founder of The Velvet Cell