Photography in Birmingham
This web page is seeking to focus on all things photograhy in Birmingham with exhibitions, resources for the committed photographer, courses etc. With the demise of Argentea Gallery there is a real lack of focus on photography as an art form in the city. I hope to grow this page, establish a separate website for it and seek in the long run to put in place a dedicated physical space for photographers.
Current Exhibitions/ Events
Herbert Walters’ Where we were Once Gathered’ photography exhibition documents the early days of the lockdown in Birmingham. This is free and in the University of Birmingham Bramall Building. This runs from March 4th - December 8th 2023. Details here. Follow him on Instagram @herbertwalters5970.
Forthcoming Events/Exhibitions
Recent Exhibitions/Events
RBSA Photography Exhibition. This is free and on in the RBSA building in St Pauls Square from March 2nd - April 9th 2023. Details here
Vanley Burke’s Ikon Gallery Exhibition ‘A Gift to Birmingham’ is now showing at Handsworth Library. This is a small exhibition of 17 portraits of members of Migrant Voice, a migrant-led national organisation with a hub in Birmingham. Each image tells a story of migration, either recent or long past, with subjects accompanied or alone. This is free and will run until 31/03/2023.
Grain Projects are hosting a zoom workshop by Kavi Pujara a self taught photographer who makes personal, long-term documentary projects. £3/£5 Details here. Follow him on Instagram @kavi-pujara)
Format International Photography Festival, Derby, 16 March – 9 April 2023. Details here.
The State of Photography Symposium 21st April 2023 hosted by Grain Projects. The State of Photography will consider, explore, debate and review how photographers and photography practice responds and develops in this time of uncertainty and injustice. Speakers include Arpita Shah, Camilla Brown, Clare Hewitt, Jermaine Francis, Joanne Coates, Katy Barron, Lydia Goldblatt, Mark Neville, Maryam Wahid and Sam Laughlin. Details here.
The National Trust’s Birmingham Back to Backs are hosting an exhibition curated by Sampad Arts called ‘From City of Empire to City of Diversity: A Visual Journey’? This is an exhibition which documents post-1945 migration and the huge contribution made by those who settled in Birmingham from the Commonwealth. The exhibition has been created from The Dyche Collection, one of the most important photographic collections within Birmingham Archives and acquired by Birmingham Central Library in 1990. It is open from 17 November to 6 March 2023.
The New Art Gallery Walsall is hosting a photographic exhibition by Billy Dosanjh. Billy Dosanjh is an artist, film-maker and storyteller who was born and raised in Sandwell in the West Midlands. His ambitious new body of photographic works pay tribute to those largely male migrant workers, especially those from the British colonies of South Asia, who came to The Black Country in the 1960s, to a region in the last throes of its industrial might, to find work and to create a new life for themselves. This runs from November 11th 2022 to 5th February 2023. Entrance is free. He is giving an informal exhibition tour on Saturday 28 January, 2pm, which is also free but needs booking.
Herbert Walters has an exhibition of his photographs ‘Portaits of Black Britain’ at the Medicine Bakery Gallery on New Street Birmingham. It is on until January 2023.
The London Alternative Photography Collective are holding an exhibition at The Hive in the Jewellery Quarter entitled ‘Beyond Silver’ which shows how silver and other metals can be used to create photographic images. Work is presented by a range of artists including Birmingham’s Jo Gane. It is on until February 3rd 2023 and opens Tuesday-Fridays 10am-3.30pm
Grain Projects are hosting a zoom seminar highlighting the work of Arpita Shah and her book exploring South Asian female identity. The ‘Modern Muse’ portraits visually and conceptually explore the ever shifting identities and representations of South Asian women. Attendance is free but booking is necessary. This is on Thursday January 26th 2023 and is from 6pm-7.30pm.
Dani Bower’s exhibition One Dance, One City at the Hippodrome features dancers from Birmingham Royal Ballet, SAMPAD, Swing-Era and a whole host of other incredible independent artists and celebrates One Dance UK’s arrival into the ‘second city’. Dani is One Dance UK’s Marketing Manager and Freelance Photographer. The exhibition is free and continues until Monday
Centrala Space are hosting an exhibition by two Polish photographers Anka Gregorczyk and Łukasz Szamałek who have produced a photographic series called ‘Temporary Landscapes’ documenting the natural and social effects of the S5 motorway building works across Poland. This finishes on Friday 25th November 2022. Do try to see this as it is excellent.
Birmingham Photography Resources
Darkroom Birmingham major on supporting analogue photography in the City. They have undertaken a number of projects recently including Mosaic Road which has captured the diversity of the population that live around Moseley Road.
Grain Projects are a photography project based in Birmingham
Multistory Project are a community based project in Sandwell that regularly uses photography to engage .