High quality photography exhibitions were very much to the fore in 2008, with everything from biennials to major retrospectives popping up in our museums and galleries. Here's a selection of some of them with links to 24 Hour Museum stories.

January

The global mash up between East and West was the subject of an intriguing show at Beam Gallery Wakefield who served up a folk art-inspired take on Soviet brutalist architecture courtesy of Photographer Kate Mellor.
Soviet Architecture And Folk Traditions At Beam Wakefield

One of the best photography exhibitions of the year was hosted by the Hayward Gallery whose Alexander Rodchenko explored the first two decades of the Soviet regime’s favourite photomontage artist turned photographer.
Rodchenko’s Revolution In Photography At The Hayward Gallery

February/March

Another world was revealed at Ffotogallery in Penarth who presented photographs by Clare Richardson taken in the magical landscapes of rural Transylvania - where fairytales live on.
Beyond The Forest - Images Of Transylvania At Ffotogallery In Penarth

A British Council and Arts Council Collection showing at Aberystwyth Arts Centre offered a fascinating view of sweeping social change caught on camera between 1967 and 1987.
No Such Thing As Society: Photography In Britain 1967 - 1987 At Aberystwyth Arts Centre

June

Upstairs at Tate Britain they unveiled an intriguing selection of photographs that engaged with social issues by British-Iranian photographer Mitra Tabrizian in which the protagonists act out a series of strange and lonely narratives.
Mitra Tabrizian - This Is That Place At Tate Britain

In recording the lives of the people of Afghanistan since 1994 Seamus Murphy’s photographs brought us closer to understanding their existence and experiences at Asia House.
Darkness Visible - Seamus Murphy’s Images Of Afghanistan At Asia House

July

Edinburgh’s Scottish National Portrait Gallery hosted the first exhibition on the origins of landscape photography, focusing particularly on the turbulently romantic John Muir Wood.
John Muir Wood’s Pioneering Photographs At The Scottish National Portrait Gallery

The photographs of Janire Najera examined the past and present and shed some light on class divides by focussing on Newport's history and the town's current inhabitants.
Photographer Reveals Two Estates At Tredegar House, Newport

August

A photographic exhibition in Preston at the Queen's Lancashire Regiment Museum showed how the Territorial Army has evolved from militia and volunteer battalions to the integral force we have today.
100 Years Of The TA At The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment Museum

PM Gallery Ealing showed how Dutch photographer Hans Stakelbeek was won over by the determination of the Afghan people when he was commissioned to document the reconstruction process.
Hans Stakelbeek’s Photos Of Afghanistan At PM Gallery Ealing

Beside the Seaside - Snapshots of British Coastal Life 1880-1950 took visitors on a photographic journey through some of the nation’s finest coastal regions.
National Maritime Museum Displays Francis Frith Postcard Images

September

The ethics and distribution of war photography were explored in Memory of Fire: The War of Images and The Images of War, during the Brighton Photo Biennial 2008.
Brighton Photo Biennial 2008 Questions War Photography

Graphic images of mutilated bodies were the focus of Thomas Hirschhorn’s Incommensurable Banner, one of the most controversial works displayed at the 2008 Brighton Photo Biennial.
Thomas Hirschhorn’s Incommensurable Banner At Brighton’s Fabrica

Why Mister-Why? and Baghdad Calling by Geert van Kesteren were displayed at Brighton’s Lighthouse in a Brighton Photo Biennial exhibition that looked at the effects of war in Iraq.
Geert van Kesteren’s Photos Of Iraq At Brighton’s Lighthouse

Iraq Through The Lens Of Vietnam curated by Brighton Photo Biennial Director Julian Stallabrass, was exhibited at the University of Brighton Gallery.
Brighton Photo Biennial - Iraq Through The Lens Of Vietnam

This Is War: Robert Capa at Work and Gerda Taro on the Subject of War at London’s Barbican art gallery displayed some of the most iconic images of war by photojournalists.
War Images By Robert Capa and Gerda Taro At The Barbican Art Gallery

Centenary Square in central Birmingham played host to an outdoor exhibition of the work of the ‘Knight of the Camera’ the early pioneering photographer Sir Benjamin Stone.
Sir Benjamin Stone’s Photos Shown Outdoors In Birmingham

Sexual liberation and creativity in photography were documented in Soho Archives: 1950s - 1960s at The Photographers’ Gallery in London.
Soho Of The 1950s And 1960s At The Photographers’ Gallery

October

Over 100 exhibitions and events took place during October and November as part of Photomonth, the largest photography festival in the UK.
London Photomonth Photography Festival Gets Underway

Disposable People, at Southbank’s Royal Festival Hall, documented contemporary slavery from the perspectives of eight internationally renowned photojournalists.
Disposable People - Slavery Exposed At The Southbank Centre

Life and death were themes explored in Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, an exhibition that looks at her personal and professional life, at London's National Portrait Gallery.
National Portrait Gallery - Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life

November

The annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition displayed some of the best wildlife images taken by the world’s top professional and amateur photographers.
Wildlife Photographer Of The Year At The Natural History Museum

Photographer Andrew Paul Brooks investigated Manchester's hidden depths in Reality Hack: Hidden Manchester exhibition at Urbis.
Urban Exploration Comes To Urbis Manchester

An exceptional collection of prints by Hugh Stoneman including a rare image of Marilyn Monroe from the set of The Misfits was given to Falmouth Art Gallery.
Marilyn Monroe Stars In New Falmouth Art Gallery Collection

December

Installations, photographic sets and film works acquired thanks to a £5 million Art Fund campaign are set to be unveiled at Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art.
Glasgow Gallery Shows Cutting Edge Work Bought By Charity

Culture24 paid a visit to the new home of London's Photographers' Gallery after the popular Soho centre switched sites for the first time in 37 years.
London Photographers’ Gallery Thrives At New Ramillies Street Home

In its new home, Soho Nights was the second part of the Photographers’ Gallery Soho Archives exhibitions - this time featuring the fascinating photo archives of Ken Russell and Picture Post magazine.
Ken Russel & Picture Post In Soho At The Photographers’ Gallery

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