ALAN VAN WIJGERDEN

Alan Van Wijgerden is a Coventry-based photographer, video maker, and writer whose practice spans analogue and digital photography, moving images, and printed media.

He works with Art Riot Collective to archive and present his photography while producing video and film-based work that explores social realism, mental health, disabled education, and employment. Educated in engineering at Coventry Polytechnic and later earned an MA in Design and Digital Media with Distinction, Alan has created over 250,000 photographic stills and more than 200 edited short films. Influenced by Alexander Rodchenko and early Channel 4 video art, his work bridges documentary experimental, and socially engaged art.

A man with glasses is taking a photo of himself using a large convex mirror in a grand indoor space with ornate architecture, high ceilings with a large skylight, and multiple other people around him. Some individuals are looking at their phones, and there are banners with text in the background.

Alan has produced over 1,000 unedited short films shared online, contributed to Action Rayz zines, and actively screens films via Action Rayz and Coventry Cathedral. His ambition is to see his work included in national collections, including the Tate Modern and the V&A.

Black and white photo of a group of people in formal attire, engaged in conversation outdoors, with a church or similar building in the background.
Urban street scene with pedestrian crosswalk, traffic lights, and tall modern building in the background, black and white photograph.
Nighttime outdoor scene featuring wooden posts, tree, and some circular light fixtures on the ceiling.
Gulf gas station with fuel prices displayed on a sign, featuring a blue sky, gas pumps under a canopy, and some buildings and trees in the background.

Timeline

  • 2025

    Winner of Coventry Open

  • 2024

    Featured on Midlands Today; Talk at Herbert Art Gallery – After the End of History: British Working Class Photography

  • 2021

    Exhibited at Coventry Biennial; Screening at Tate Liverpool and Baltic Gateshead

  • 2019-21

    Resumed work in film-based photography

  • 2008

    Works on television – The All Electric Home and Videohead

  • 2004

    Work in progress with BBC Radio 4 Drama

  • 2000

    Two exhibitions at YYZ Gallery, Toronto, Canada

  • 1983

    Exhibition – Fashion

VIDEO