Manchester born Kevin Cummins has an international reputation as one of the world's leading photographers. His iconic portraits of musicians include Joy Division, Liza Minnelli, Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Philip Glass, Oasis, and David Bowie. These images have appeared on magazine covers, in art galleries, featured in international films, and are included in the collections of The National Portrait Gallery and The V&A amongst others.
Cummins captured key moments in the Manchester music scene and these images helped to define the cultural history of the city. They not only portrayed people and places but created a new way of looking at Manchester and remain embedded in the cultural memory of the north. Bedroom walls all over the world have been, and are, decorated with his work. Cummins has published eleven critically acclaimed monographs to date. The most recent: While We Were Getting High: Brit Pop and the ‘90s, was published by Octopus in October 2020, named by Rough Trade as one of their books of the year. He has lived in London since 1987 but retains strong links with his home city.