Peter Sanders Retrospective

Join us for a discussion with Peter Sanders about the impact of his photographs. For more than six decades, acclaimed photographer Peter Sanders has documented some of the defining cultural, spiritual and social movements of our time. From the creative energy and optimism of the 1960s to encounters with faith communities and sacred traditions across the world, his photographs offer a unique visual record of a changing age. In this special retrospective, Sanders reflects on a lifetime spent observing humanity’s search for meaning, identity and belonging. Through extraordinary images and personal stories, the event explores the people, places and moments that have shaped his remarkable journey behind the camera. About Peter Sanders Peter Sanders began his career in the mid 1960s photographing the rock n’ roll icons and documenting the culture of that time. In 1970, he set off for India, cameras in hand travelling for seven months. This trip became a spiritual odyssey that led him onto Morocco and thereafter to the Holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, where he photographed the Hajj, at a time when few professional photographers had access to Islam’s holiest sanctuaries. During the following fifty years he has travelled extensively around the world documenting societies and cultures often hidden from view. Amongst his published works are: Meetings With Mountains Encounters With the Saints and Sages of the Islamic World, Exemplars (with Michael Sugich) and in 2024 he launched Heaven, Earth and The Ten Thousand Things at the Bradford Literature Festival. Through exhibitions, the Art of Seeing workshops, presentations and his photographic books he encourages broader and deeper interactions between people of different races and faith. About The Cambridge Festival of Islamic Arts The Cambridge Festival of Islamic Arts runs from 19 to 29 November 2026, bringing performances, exhibitions, lectures, and workshops to Cambridge's historic colleges, museums, and cultural spaces. Open to everyone, the festival celebrates the beauty and diversity of Islamic arts, and, fifty years on from the landmark 1976 World of Islam Festival, carries that spirit into our own time. Find out more at cfia.co.uk.