PhotoRenga are visual poems inspired by an ancient form of Japanese poetry, renga, in which sequences of short haiku verses construct complex and profound poems.  The beauty of the PhotoRenga idea is that anyone with a digital camera can take part in the workshops we run, and work together to create beautiful, new artworks.  

Everyone takes photographs and chooses one to pass on to someone else in the group.  You then use that image as the starting point for your next picture, and so on... Chains of images form visual poems or PhotoRenga.  There are no fixed starting points, and the PhotoRengas can go in any direction the groups chose.

During COVID lockdown we created an online version allowing vulnerable artists, poets and participants to create new works together across country borders. LockDownRenga was created with support from the Arts Council of Wales, Ffotogallery and NHS Wales.

One of our most recent workshops has been the 2024 Turner House PhotoRenga held in a purpose built, Victorian gallery space in Penarth, Wales. We were working with a group of South Wales based artists and photographers.

The Turner House PhotoRenga was created with the support of Penarth Town Council.

If you are interested in taking part in future PhotoRenga please email Kate and David at photorenga@gmail.com

 Photographs by David Sinden, Kate Woodward and the artists: all rights reserved 2023