A Brief (and partial) History of Photographic Institutions in Birmingham from the 1970’s onwards
From the 1970’s onwards there was a growth of photographic institutions across the UK to help support photographers coming out of the new Polytechnics; a new generation of photographers and their teachers who valued photography as creative practice. Such spaces as the Photographer’s Gallery (London), Impressions Gallery (York) and the Untitled Gallery (Sheffield) were all set up then. Birmingham also saw the stirrings of interest in this field. Birmingham because of its economic and social history during these times seems to have pioneered photography that engages different communities; that raises issues and challenges the status quo. These are a few of the organisations and people that have shaped or still shape photography in our city/region.
Ten 8 Magazine
TEN.8 was a British photography magazine founded in 1979 and published quarterly in Birmingham throughout the 1980s, folding in 1992. This was set up by the Birmingham photographer associates Derek Bishton, Brian Homer and John Reardon (see Sidelines below) in order to promote the city's photographers. It was initially run from a terraced house in Grove Lane Handsworth. (Grove Lane was a centre for photography as it also hosted Vanley Burke’s first studio) This was a significant publication, that moved from being locally focussed to having a national/international remit as it developed and ranked alongside Creative Camera and Camerawork in importance. It was a magazine that treated photography both as an art form and a vehicle for social comment. Paul Hill, Angela Kelly, Brian Griffin, Abbas, Susan Meiselas, Vanley Burke, Nigel Dickinson, and Chris Steele-Perkins and their imagery appeared alongside writing by academics and community activists.
Triangle Photography Gallery
Derek Bishton was also a Director of the Triangle Photography Gallery that was part of the Triangle Arts Centre from 1984-87. These archives hosted on Facebook with images by Pogus Cesar show the richness and diversity of those contributing to this gallery. TEN 8 was relocated to offices above the gallery during this period.
Sidelines/ WELD Photography Project
WELD was a Handsworth based community project with a specific photography project that was run by Sidelines (a design and publishing agency ) which involved Birmingham photographers Derek Bishton, John Reardon and Brian Homer. It ran from circa 1971 onwards and used photography to engage and empower the community. Sidelines Agency was behind the establishment of TEN 8 and much of the fantastic work that happened in the City during this period.
Jubilee Arts
The Jubilee Arts Project was a community arts project based in West Bromwich from 1974 which documented the rapidly changing socio economic environment in the Black Country over two decades. Also take a look at the archives Facebook page.
Poseurs Gallery and Studio.
Rhonda Wilson was one of the most influential players in Birmingham (and some would say nationally/internationally) in the use and promotion of photography and photographers. She was one of the Editors/Directors of Ten 8 (in its latter days) and set up a photography studio and gallery in Balsall Heath in 1989 with Ming De Nasty (a local photographer) called Poseurs. This closed in circa 1992. This held exhibitions by amongst others Brian Griffin with his show ‘Photographer of the Decade’. Ming’s archive shows how she used the space as a studio to take photographs that speak of that time.
Seeing the Light
Rhonda Wilson set up ‘Seeing the Light’, in 1995. This was a training agency for photographic artists, which became an Arts Council England revenue funded organisation. This led onto Rhubarb Rhubarb.
Rhubarb Rhubarb
Rhonda also set up Rhubarb Rhubarb which organised an annual international portfolio review in the City from 2000-2009. This in its latter days became ‘one of the best portfolio events in the world’ with 130,000 people estimated to have seen the 2009 exhibitions. Rhonda set up the Rhubarb East Gallery in Digbeth shortly after in March 2010.
Darkroom Birmingham
Dan Burwood set up Darkroom Birmingham in 2012 in The Old Print Works in Balsall Heath. He has provided a fully equipped darkroom for analogue photographers and put on training courses with the occasional exhibition. His most recent project/exhibition being Mosaic Road; Portraits of Balsall Heath. The Old Print Works has hosted a few photographic exhibitions in recent years including Ort Gallery’s and Flatpack Festival’s exhibition Ghost Street’s of Balsall Heath (following on from its showing in the Ikon Gallery.
Grain Projects
Grain Projects, set up by Nicola Shipley began life in 2012 at the Library of Birmingham. In 2015 it became an independent arts organisation based in the Midlands with the reach of projects extending nationally and internationally. GRAIN champions photography for all, delivering activities and projects to support and grow photography opportunities for artists, communities, audiences and participants. Grain is supported by the Arts Council and Birmingham City University. Its ethos is not to have its own space but to work with communities and in unique locations to explore new ways of working. In 2022 it had a project where photographer Antony Lovera working with SIFA fireside help homeless people engage with photography. This led to an exhibition outside Snow Hill station. It also worked with photographer Tim Mills who documented a part of Coventry City Centre and different communities there; most recently it worked with Arpita Shah in publishing her work documenting women from the South Asian communities in the region. This project is at the heart of how Birmingham and the West Midlands expresses itself photographically currently.
Multi Story
Multistory is a community arts organisation that uses photography a lot in its work with communities. It has been based in the borough of Sandwell since 2008 and the people and place shape its work. They work with local communities and artists to produce creative projects that tell stories of everyday life and believe in the power of art to reflect the times we live in and tell stories to bring people together. They put on a programme of participatory arts projects, workshops, talks and events takes place in libraries, community centres and indoor and outdoor public spaces. The stories told through our projects have a local resonance but are also seen more widely. They support creatives through collaborative projects, employment, bursaries and skills development opportunities.
Argentea Gallery
Argentea was a commercial photography gallery based in St Pauls Square in the Jewellery Quarter run by Jennie Anderson from 2016 to 2021. It had shows from established artists including Paul Hill and John Blakemore but also local photographers like Nilupa Yasmin.
Library of Birmingham/ Birmingham City Council
BCC’s photographic archives contain apparently over 3 million items. This amazing resource for the City was used very creatively by the late Pete James pulling together exhibitions in the old and new Library of Birmingham. This resource with Sampad Arts curating has recently put on 'From City of Empire to City of Diversity: A Visual Journey' showing images drawn from the Dyche Collection and other more contemporary images.
MAC Birmingham Arts Centre has consistently supported photography over this time period with particular support for local photographers. Recent this has included a major show Zaibunnisa by local photographer Maryam Wahid in 2022. The Mac also has an active adult short course programme in teaching digital photography. The Ikon Gallery has also hosted photography shows; the most recent being Vanley Burke’s ‘A Gift to Birmingham in 2022’. Walsall Art Gallery also supports photography through a range of exhibitions; the most recent being by Billy Dosanjh entitled The Exiles. Finally one should forget Centrala who have hosted many exhibitions with photography at their heart; they specialise in art from Eastern Europe. Most recently, in autumn 2022, they hosted two Polish photographers Anka Gregorczyk and Łukasz Szamałek with their exhibition ‘Temporary Landscapes’.
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University trains many photography graduates and post graduates every year with an active photography department. It actively supported the establishment of GRAIN and gives it ongoing support.
University of Birmingham
The University doesn’t teach photography but has a significant role in commissioning photographers to be involved in elements of its research. The Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) used photography as part of its approach to critical cultural analysis. The archives of this centre are housed in the Cadbury Research Library and were used to put on the Janet Mendelsohn exhibition at the Ikon Gallery and Ort Gallery.
A number of other community based organisations have been mentioned in online discussions including, The Unemployed Workers Centre in Sparkbrook, The Trade Union Resource Centre in Small Heath, Wide Angle, Trinity Arts, Darkroom at St Pauls (Nick Bigg). In the time available I haven’t chased these up.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THIS HISTORY PLEASE CONTACT ME: patrick1willcocks@gmail.com