The Third Place I Needed: How I Found It at The Photographer’s Gallery
Finding a Third Place when you work in film and photography is harder than you think.
On paper, London should be perfect for it. The city is full of bars, coffee shops, events, screenings, galleries, places where most creative people tend to gather. But here’s the thing: most of these places aren’t really about connection and instead everyone there is just thirsty for work.
And networking is f*cking exhausting.
I’ve been to those industry nights where everyone is half-looking over your shoulder for someone more “useful” or just half drunk trying to unwind in the wrong environment. people there exchange LinkedIn profiles before names. conversations feel more like a pitch than a chat. And its not even the networking that bothers me, it’s that you aren’t even their goal, they want you to introduce them someone who can introduce them to someone. You end up leaving feeling more drained than when you arrived.
Then there are bars and pubs. Fine for blowing off steam. Harder when you’re looking to actually meet new people in a real way. It’s loud, people stick to their groups, and if you don’t drink much, the whole scene gets repetitive fast.
So I kept looking.
I tried creative meet-ups. Some good, some awkward. I tried working from co-working spaces. Useful, but again, either very closed off or highly transactional. I wanted something else. A place where you could show up, no big agenda, and just be. A space where conversation could happen naturally. Where you weren’t expected to sell yourself, but where you might find your people anyway.
That’s when my friend told me to go to The Photographer’s Gallery. I’d been there before for exhibitions. But over time, it became something more.
The Photographer’s Gallery sits just off Oxford Street in Soho. It’s one of those rare places that feels open to everyone, no matter your background or how deep you are in the art world. Once you are inside, it looks to be a mixture between a modern art museum, a very cozy coffee shop, and an art studio all combined together. The first instinct you will have is to take a picture, even if you are not a photographer, it looks aesthetic in such an exclusive way, where you just want to show your friends that you are there! The solid color walls, the big exhibition room, and the corridor lined with photographs, it all just works so well, add the smell of coffee filling the space and it becomes very easy to understand why this is my third place.
Yes, it shows some nice photography. Yes, it hosts talks with people who discuss the craft. But it also has this everyday vibe. You can drop in and grab a coffee. Sit with a book. Wander through an exhibition on your lunch break. That’s what makes it a true Third Place for me.
It’s not a networking space. It’s not trying to be. And that’s exactly why I really enjoy it. You meet people here because you have something in common, and not because you’re trying to leverage them for your career. I’ve had more genuine conversations in the cafe than at any formal “creative networking” event. You’re surrounded by people who care about images, about stories, about seeing the world in new ways.
And when you do meet someone, the conversation usually starts with the work, not with what you do for a living. That’s rare and valuable. I feel like having an exhibition style while not being a museum makes it so easy to look at an artwork you like and discuss it with however is standing next.
to you also looking at it, it’s such a natural conversation starter, it’s not forced at all, and so far it felt like every person I have approached felt the same way.
Over time, I’ve met fellow photographers, filmmakers, artists, and people who aren’t in the industry at all but who love photography. Some have become friends. Some I’ve worked with later, but that wasn’t the goal going in. The goal was to meet like-minded people without the pressure.
The space helps. The cafe is bright and friendly, with a bookshop that tempts you to linger. Upstairs, the exhibitions give you plenty to think and talk about. The Gallery hosts events that feel designed to foster curiosity rather than status. There’s room to breathe here.
It’s also affordable, which matters. You don’t need to pay for a ticket every time. You can pop in for a coffee and still feel part of the place. That accessibility helps keep the crowd be more diverse.
For me, this is what a great Third Place does: it creates conditions for real friendships to grow, without forcing them. You show up because you like the place. You stay because you like the people you meet there, and without noticing you just slowly end up becoming a regular.
In a field like mine, where so much happens behind screens and so much interaction gets filtered through professional ambition, that kind of space is gold.
So no, The Photographer’s Gallery isn’t a great networking venue. And that’s exactly why I love it.
It’s very far off from a soho house, where people have clearly invested money just for connections. It’s where I go to reconnect with the joy of what we do. It’s where I meet people who remind me why I got into this work in the first place. It’s where some friendships start naturally.
If you’re tired of the grind, if you want a place where you can show up as yourself and not as your portfolio, go. Grab a coffee. Wander through the galleries. Stay a while. You might be surprised who you meet.
I sure was.
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