Offline Newsletter #002

Things to note in February 2020

I’m pleased to present the second Offline Journal Newsletter - published online every first and third Sunday of the month to offer the wider photography community an opportunity to provide feedback on content I’m including (or excluding) in the printed Journal and allow photographers to engage in discussions on various themes I might offer up.

These Newsletters will vary: some long, some short and some in the form of discussion threads. Some will be a bit more experimental. I’d value your input and views.

Comments are now open on these Newsletters for subscribers only (anyone can read the Newsletter via their web browser via offlinejournal.substack.com however any resulting comments and discussion threads are only visible and accessible to Newsletter subscribers). I encourage you to comment and participate in discussions.

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Watching the Collectives… ongoing

The six page article ‘Watching the Collectives’ in Offline Journal issue #002 explored seven photography Collectives active in or associated with Wales and proved very popular.

I thought it would be useful to briefly follow-up and highlight the efforts of two active Collectives located at opposite ends of Wales who have group exhibitions - one currently and the other due to open in coming weeks.

The four-member North Wales Project formed in early 2019 ‘to offer a narrative that challenges the tsunami of stereotypes in photography we always see associated with North Wales’ and has gained a new member in time for their first group exhibition in Oriel Colwyn. ‘Y Gogledd / The North’ started 11th January and ends Saturday 22nd February 2020 - more information here.

Above: North Wales Project members (l-r): Roj Smith, Ethan Beswick, Hazel Simcox, Robert Law and Philip Jones. Image: Dan Simcox

Meanwhile in south Wales, Phrame ‘focused on promoting and supporting active and emerging female photographers in Cardiff and South Wales’ has a new month-long group exhibition titled ‘Everywoman’ hosted in the Senedd in Cardiff Bay - opening 25th February and running until 25th March 2020.

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Have your say - a photography survey in Wales

Yesterday (Saturday 15 Feb) Ffoton unveiled a national survey to gather views and ideas on current and future development of photography across Wales, stating…

Having provided photographers and emerging talent with a platform to talk about their work and careers, Ffoton now turns to the wider photography community to ask what should be next for the whole of Wales, where should priorities lie and how might they be delivered - collaboratively.

Full disclosure: I’m a Ffoton founder and co-author of the survey (and I had the pleasure of working with two non-Ffoton photography professional’s in making this survey a reality).

I also live in Cardiff - roughly a twenty five minute walk from the City centre, Museum Cardiff and the new Ffotogallery location in Cathays. I feel lucky having relatively easy access to events, exhibitions and gatherings on photography. Further, in the five years of co-developing Ffoton it’s afforded me the pleasure of meeting and making friends with many talented photographers throughout Wales. Sadly, I can honestly say almost all those photographers agree there’s a Cardiff-centric focus on and voice for Welsh photography. If true, that’s a problem because any argument on Cardiff being the Welsh capital isn’t and shouldn’t be an excuse: it’s just a lazy and easy response. But supported by what?

One would think an easy way of finding out is by simply asking photographers and others passionate about photography what they think. Asking as large a group as possible - professionals, enthusiasts, students, members of Clubs, Collectives, formal and informal organisations. With that as a starting point we came up with a set of simple questions. Combined, the questions form a survey - not a terribly complex one - but detailed enough to provide a useful and current snapshot of views on photography across Wales as we move into 2020.

The survey is now open and closes midnight 31 May 2020 - all contributions will be treated anonymously throughout.
Findings will be unveiled at The EYE International Photography Festival in Aberystwyth on Friday 9 October 2020 and online via the Ffoton website - free to all - that same weekend.

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to provide your own contribution to the survey - it really is important and takes less than ten minutes to have your say and hopefully inform the future development of photography across Wales. Further information and the survey itself can be viewed via the link below. Please share with others!

bit.ly/photosurvey2020

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Subscribers to this Newsletter can leave comments (and I encourage them to do so!) to express their views and ideas around photography and hopefully stimulate further constructive and supportive discussion with others.
Basic community guidelines: be active and supportive where possible in feedback and discussion threads, be respectful of others, avoid profanity - trolling or abuse will result in being immediately unsubscribed from the Newsletter. Simple.

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Offline Journal Newsletter is published every first and third Sunday each month to offer the wider photography community an opportunity to discuss photography in, from and of Wales.
Back Issues of and Subscriptions to the limited edition printed Offline Journal (published every April & October) available via www.offline.wales

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(Thanks again either way! - Brian)