#29: Offline Journal Newsletter : February 2021
Lots going on in Welsh photography
Hello again.
There’s lots happening in photography in addition to numerous exhibitions around Wales as we move into 2022.
Here are some that might be of interest…
EYE Festival to celebrate 10 years in October
Festival Director Glenn Edwards and venue Aberystwyth Arts Centre appear determined to maintain momentum as pandemic restrictions ease, to host The EYE International Photography Festival in its normal biannual slot on the weekend of 7-9th October 2022.
Founded in 2012, The EYE is Wales’ longest running photography festival and now shares its programme format of guest speaker weekend alongside accompanying exhibitions and events with The Northern EYE Festival in Colwyn Bay.
All but one of the 2022 guest speaker lineup have now been announced - Matt Black, Melanie Friend, Jeremy Sutton Hibbert, Anita Corbin, Violeta Sophia; and the many-award-winning photojournalist Andrew Testa. The final speaker is expected to be shared soon and the new EYE Festival website is currently being prepared with more information on the 2022 event.
Keep an eye on Twitter and the festival website for more updates.
New issue #008 of OFFLINE JOURNAL is coming in April
April will see the publication of the next issue of Offline Journal with interviews and articles now well underway!
I’m excited about the various photographers and writers contributing to issue #008 of the printed journal - which will be available from the Offline Journal online store and from a small number of photography gallery stockists.
There’s still time to grab a two-issue subscription to the printed Journal and bag yourself (or someone else as a gift) the current issue #007 and the April 2022 issue #008.
There are two subscription options available: Offline Journal on it’s own, or the Journal plus printed supplements. More info is available via www.offline.wales
Alternatively, you can buy a copy of the current issue #007 (with the recognisable David Hurn cover and packed with great articles - including one on the highly respected Third Floor Gallery in Cardiff by Bartosz Nowicki, one of its team) via the online store
ZINES
Pembrokeshire-based Mohamed Hassan, who featured in issue #006 of the printed Offline Journal, has published Road Trip 2 – the second in his curated sets of images made while travelling around Wales. I had the pleasure of working with Mo on the sequencing and design of the book. Great photography and worth a spot on your book shelf.
£11.00 per copy (P&P included). 210 x 210mm. 48 pages.
You can order a copy direct from his website via the button below.
One photography zine from Wales that flew under the radar a few years back is ‘Wales’ by Peter Jones.
I had the pleasure of working with Café Royal Books publisher Craig Atkinson in 2017 to bring a selection of Peter’s 35mm film scans together and share his sensitive observations of people and small communities around Aberystwyth with more people in Wales and beyond. Only 250 copies were printed in 2018 and the zine sold out on the Café Royal website.
However, I have a small quantity of the original 36-page book and now making them available to Offline Journal subscribers for just £5.50 per copy plus P&P.
You can view spreads from the zine on the Café Royal Books product page here>
Listen to Peter’s Ffoton conversation recorded five months before his death in early 2017 here>
Jack Lowe and the Lifeboat Station Project
The National Library of Wales and the Riverside Gallery in Haverfordwest will host a talk with photographer Jack Lowe on Tuesday 15 February at 5pm. Featured in issue #007 of Offline Journal, twenty-six of Jack’s collodion glass plate images made in Wales to date are held in the National Collection at the National Library of Wales. Two of the photographs are currently being shown in an exhibition at the Riverside Gallery - and visitors will be able to see the work and hear the talk in the gallery or, alternatively, listen live via Zoom.
The event is free and two ticket options are available here>
Photography Exhibitions around Wales
Here’s a list of exhibitions shared with me.
Again, if you’re aware of any others planned for 2022, please leave a comment or direct a gallery representative my way via offline.journal@gmail.com
NICK TREHARNE: A PORTRAIT OF WALES
Nick Treharne
19 July - 22 April 2022
National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
www.library.wales
POBL / PEOPLE:
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE NATIONAL COLLECTION
Various / Documentary
18 September - 23 April 2022
Riverside Gallery, Haverfordwest
www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/the-riverside
BLACK COUNTRY DADA
Brian Griffin
1 October - 30 January 2022 - amended - see below
Oriel Colwyn, Colwyn Bay
UPDATE
As the venue was closed for a time due to Covid restrictions, this exhibition has now been extended to run 1 October - 14 February 2022.
The events are free to attend and the website currently states no booking is necessary. More info here>
www.orielcolwyn.org
Gallery tour of Black Country Dada with Brian Griffin
7pm. 9 February 2022
Oriel Colwyn, Colwyn Bay
Hear the stories behind his photographs during a personal tour of the exhibition with Brian Griffin.
Free but limited spaces. Tickets and more info here>
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Oriel Colwyn has recently formed THE PHOTO FILM CLUB - screening a photography-based film or documentary on a Saturday afternoon every six weeks or so in the Theatr Colwyn cinema located below the gallery.
McCULLIN
5th February 2022 at 4pm (doors 3.30pm)
Theatr Colwyn, Colwyn Bay
Tickets are £5.00 via theatrcolwyn.co.uk/shows/mccullin
DAVID HURN: SWAPS
David Hurn / Various
23 October - 27 March 2022
National Museum Wales, Cardiff
www.museum.wales
GOLDEN VALLEY FACES
Richard Jenkins / Historical photographs
8 January - 13 February 2022
Thru The Lens Gallery, Hay-on-Wye
www.thruthelens.photography
DRAGONS WARRIORS / DREIGIAU RHYFELWYR
Nigel Whitbread
18 January - 21 February 2022
Cynon Valley Museum, Aberdare
www.cynonvalleymuseum.wales
INVISIBLE BRITAIN - THIS SEPARATED ISLE
Various
21 January - 19 February 2022
Ffotogallery, Cardiff
www.ffotogallery.org
UPDATE
To wrap-up this exhibition, Ffotogallery will also host two days of film screenings and talks around themes of ‘Britishness’ on the weekend of Friday 18 and Saturday 19 February. The events are free to attend and the website currently states no booking is necessary. More info here>
THE BLUEBIRDS
Bartosz Nowicki
3 February - 13 March 2022
The Workers Gallery, Ynyshir
www.workersgallery.co.uk
CITY STORIES
Pete Davis: Cardiff 1969 - 1977
26 April - 21 May 2022
Found Gallery, Brecon
www.foundgallery.co.uk