Bonington Gallery presents A Semester in Nottingham 1976 by John Dean
Bonington Gallery presents A Semester in Nottingham, 1976, an exhibition of photographs by American photographer and videographer John Dean.
By Sarah McLeod | Published on 20 January 2026
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In the Spring of 1976, Dean was a 20 year old visiting student from the Maryland Institute College of Art, taking part in an exchange programme with Trent Polytechnic (now Nottingham Trent University). During his short visit, he created a powerful body of work that captures Nottingham during a year of profound social and economic change.
Armed with a camera and quiet curiosity, Dean immersed himself in the rhythms of Nottingham life. Over the course of a single semester, he wandered the city’s streets and parks — Hyson Green, Market Square, the Arboretum — capturing striking black-and-white portraits of residents going about their daily lives. The resulting images are both documentary and deeply personal, offering an intimate glimpse into the lives of Nottingham residents during this transformative era.
The exhibition marks a significant homecoming to the institution where Dean studied fifty years ago. Now, half a century on, these photographs will be exhibited in the UK for the first time, in the city where they were made.
First developed in Trent’s own darkrooms (still situated next door to Bonington Gallery, in the School of Art & Design), these photographs have remained largely unseen for decades. Now, they return to the place of their origin, standing as a testament to the power of observational storytelling, told through the eyes of a visitor to the city.
John Dean has since built a distinguished career as a producer and videographer, creating historical and educational media for museums and non-profit organisations across the United States. Yet photography remains his first and most enduring creative language — a medium through which he continues to explore the intersections of memory, environment, and human experience.
John Dean (1976). Copyright John Dean
John Dean is a Baltimore-based photographer, videographer who graduated with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art.
He regularly works with museums, non-profit organisations and editorial platforms on the creation of educational and historical media and content. In addition to his institutional work, John’s independent photographic practice has taken him around the world, exploring historic and cultural sites, including excavation sites in Greece and sacred spaces in Istanbul.
Current work includes photography for the 111 Places Guides, a series of books published by Emons Verlag.
John worked on 111 Places in Baltimore That You Must Not Miss and 111 Places in Washington DC That You Must Not Miss. As a mentor and arts advocate, John is consistently guided by a curiosity for human stories.
John Dean
A Semester in Nottingham, 1976
21 March – 9 May 2026
Launch: Friday 20 March 2026, 6-8pm
Notes for Editors
Press enquiries please contact Sarah McLeod, Corporate Communications Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8735, or via email.
About Bonington Gallery
Founded in 1969, Bonington Gallery has been at the forefront of Nottingham’s rich and vibrant visual arts community for over fifty years, offering an innovative and dynamic programme of local, national, and international significance. Situated at the heart of Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art & Design, our ‘art school’ context is reflected throughout our multi-disciplinary programme of exhibitions and events – presenting and exploring practices related to visual art, fashion, film, music and design. Beyond our building, our connections with colleagues in academic subject areas help ground our programme and thinking within past, present and future cultural and societal discourse.
About Nottingham Trent University
Nottingham Trent University (NTU) has been named UK ‘University of the Year’ five times in six years, (Times Higher Education Awards 2017, The Guardian University Awards 2019, The Times and Sunday Times 2018 and 2023, Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2023) and is consistently one of the top performing modern universities in the UK.
Students have voted us the best university in the UK and 1st in the UK for student employability (Uni Compare 2025).
NTU is 4th in the UK for number of undergraduate students (HESA 2023-24) with over 36,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across six campuses. It has an international student population of 6,000 and an NTU community representing over 160 countries.
NTU owns two Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for outstanding achievements in research (2015, 2021). The first recognises NTU’s research on the safety and security of global citizens. The second was awarded for research in science, engineering, arts and humanities to investigate and restore cultural objects, buildings and heritage. The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent.
NTU was awarded GOLD in the national 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) assessment.
NTU is a top 10 for sport (British Universities and Colleges Sport league table 2025) and was named as Sports University of the Year (Daily Mail University Guide 2025). It has also been ranked as 25th in the UK by the Guardian University Guide 2026.
NTU is a holder of the University Mental Health Charter recognising the commitment an institution has shown towards continuous improvement in the area of mental health and wellbeing.
NTU is the most environmentally sustainable university in the UK and second in the world (UI Green Metric University World Rankings, 2024).