Protest captured on film by heritage photographer.
Over 100 swimmers from across the UK took part in a one-off photo event earlier today, aimed at highlighting the plight of one of the Birmingham’s most important community buildings.
The 100 Swimmers, a project by photographer Attilio Fiumarella, saw the empty Gala Pool at Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath filled with swimmers, photography fans, city heritage enthusiasts and community supporters; a reaction to the news that Birmingham City Council intends to close the historic building permanently in 2015.
A final powerful and thought-provoking image emulating the famous Terracotta Army sculpture of Ancient China was captured, also completing a community photographic project entitled The Swimmers on show at the Old Print Works in Birmingham until Wednesday 23 July 2014.
Attilio Fiumarella is a recipient of the first Some Cities bursary scheme. He has been working to document the under-threat Grade-II Moseley Road Baths building over the past few months. The Italian-born, Birmingham-based photographer said, “Today’s event was spectacular. We’ve had so many emails from people sharing stories of their lives and connections to the baths – from champion swimmers to people who worked here. We even had someone who travelled from the Isle of Wight to show their support today. Once the images of this amazing building are developed we look forward to sharing them with Birmingham and the world.”
Some Cities is a UK social photography project which encourages residents and visitors to Birmingham to share images of people, places and events in the city via social media and the dedicated website www.some-cities.org.uk.
Since launching in November 2013, the project has amassed over 100,000 images on a wealth of subject matter, including portraits, skylines, wildlife, industry, religious ceremonies, architecture, transport, nights out and street scenes around Birmingham as well as shots taken in or around the city’s central shopping areas, airport, markets, venues and other public spaces. New images can be sent directly to Some Cities by email [Birmingham@some-cities.com] or via Twitter, tagged with #Birmingham, #somecities and #brumfotos, and will form part of an ongoing extensive and authentic digital archive of life in the city.
The Some Cities initiative is supported by Arts Council England, the University of Birmingham, mac Birmingham and Birmingham City Council, and is managed by Birmingham-based photographers Andrew Jackson and Dan Burwood.
Photos – Attilio Fiumarella