Swimmers wanted to take part in city photo-event

Endangered building to be captured on film.

Attilio Fiumarella Terracotta Swimmers Appeal Poster

100 swimmers from across Birmingham are being invited to take part in a one-off photo event on Sunday 20 July, aimed at highlighting the plight of one of the city’s most important community buildings.

The 100 Swimmers, a project by photographer Attilio Fiumarella, will see the empty Gala Pool at Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath filled with swimmers, photography fans, city heritage enthusiasts and community supporters, and is 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 will be captured, emulating the famous Terracotta Army sculpture of Ancient China, also completing a community photographic project entitled The Swimmers.

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, “The 100 Swimmers is an imaginary journey through the pages of our city’s heritage. It is a chance to show the value of our history, a way to give a neglected community a voice and offers a moment to understand that sometimes we need to slow down, look around and appreciate the incredible buildings that we have inherited.”

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 ([email protected]) 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.

The 100 Swimmers takes palce at 10am on Sunday 20 July at Moseley Road Baths. Places can be reserved and further information available from: [email protected]