Major new Birmingham photography project launches.
Birmingham is to take a step closer to becoming one of the UK’s leading centres for creative photography with the launch of a major new community project led by people who live and work in the city.
The Some Cities initiative, supported by Arts Council England, the University of Birmingham, mac Birmingham and Birmingham City Council, will equip photographers of all abilities with the skills to capture stories through images, sharing them via the dedicated online platform www.some-cities.org.uk.
The project, which will deliver a series of talks, workshops and courses on digital, analogue and documentary photography, along with access to darkroom facilities over the next four months, along with two £600 bursaries to commission and produce new work, officially opens for submissions and bookings on Friday 15 November 2013.
Some Cities, devised and produced by Birmingham-based creative professionals Andrew Jackson and Dan Burwood, is being piloted in the South Birmingham area of Balsall Heath before an eventual roll-out across the city.
Photographs submitted to Some Cities will contribute to an extensive and authentic digital archive of life in Birmingham, and the project aims to bring together budding and professional photographers to create conversations, partnerships and collaborations examining the city we live and work in through images.
Andrew Jackson said of the project, “Subjects such as civic pride, the realities of life in an urban environment or simply the people, places and events that shape our lives are experiences which every human can relate to, and photography offers the perfect medium through which to capture and share such stories. By creating a community of photographers with the skills, passion and understanding to document the world around them, we hope to foster a new generation of artists and archivists sharing their experiences of the city now and for years to come.”
Images can be submitted to the project directly via www.some-cities.org.uk, and Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtags #somecities and #brumfotos.
Some Cities launches at Darkrooms Birmingham, The Old Print Works, B12 9AH at 7pm on Friday 15 November 2013. Admission is free. For further information on submissions and commissions, or to book a place for individual talks, workshops and courses visit www.some-cities.org.uk
