Birmingham will become 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 is designed to equip photographers of all abilities with the skills to capture stories through images and share them online at 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, November 15, 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.
Organiser Andrew Jackson said: “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.
Launch: 7pm Friday 15 November
Darkrooms Birmingham
Free admission
Introduction to Digital Photography (6 week course)
7pm Tuesday 19 November
Darkrooms Birmingham
£10 per session adv / £5 per session adv (concessions)
John Myers and Jim Mortram in conversation
7pm Monday 25 November
mac Birmingham
£3 / £2 (concessions)
Introduction to Documentary Photography (6 week course)
7pm Wednesday 27 November
Darkrooms Birmingham
£10 per session adv / £5 per session adv (concessions)
Introduction to Black and White Analogue Photography (8 week course)
1.30pm Saturday 30 November
Darkrooms Birmingham
£10 per session adv / £5 per session adv (concessions)
Stuart Whipps and Dan Bosworth in conversation
Monday 9 December
mac Birmingham
£3 / £2 (concessions)
For more information on submissions and commissions, or to book a place for individual talks, workshops and courses visit www.some-cities.org.uk.