Welsh photography collective A Fine Beginning holds its debut exhibition in Cardiff. The exhibition features work created in Wales by the collective’s core members and images by photographers who have featured on the collective’s blog.
A Fine Beginning is the brainchild of photographer James O Jenkins who founded the collective in May last year. The aim, he says, is to provide a platform to showcase contemporary Welsh photography.
“There seemed to be a lack of platforms to showcase contemporary photography created in Wales,” Jenkins tells BJP. “We launched the collective with a zine and we also regularly blog on our website (www.afinebeginning.com). Our hope for the future is to continue to hold exhibitions to showcase what we’re blogging about. Our website and social media are important, but we like to have exhibitions to show printed work, although these don’t always have to be held in a white-walled gallery.”
On show alongside work by Jenkins are photographs by A Fine Beginning members Jack Latham, Gawain Barnard, and Abbie Trayler-Smith. Other featured photographers include: Chloe Dewe Matthews, Dan Wood, Michelle Sank, and James Morris.
Of what it means to be part of a collective, Jenkins says: “It’s good to have a voice that is more than one person, and to hear other people’s ideas. Collectives aren’t anything new, but there does seem to be a lot of good collectives around; Brighton’s Miniclick (https://miniclickatthefringe.wordpress.com), and Document Scotland (www.documentscotland.com), for example. Maybe photographers are tired of old institutions and now have the means to do things themselves.”
A Fine Beginning is on display at Arcade Cardiff until 30 March.