T u F e w n P h o t o R e n g a

T u F e w n P h o t o R e n g a at g39

Clio - Kate - Lawrence - Camilla

We were delighted to be invited to run two PhotoRenga workshops for Does That Include Us?, a progamme of events at g39 as part of the Tu Fewn project which finds innovative and experimental ways to promote discussion around the subjects of access, inclusion, empathy and diversity within the arts and the wider community.

The PhotoRengas are inspired by an ancient form of Japanese poetry, in which sequences of haiku construct complex and profound poems. The aim of the PhotoRenga project is to produce a series of short, collective visual rengas using photography.

The project began when members of the Cardiff & Vale Brain Injury Group produced PhotoRengas in an ongoing workshop programme I started with Ffotogallery in 2010 and are unique in providing an open creative platform to enable anyone with a digital camera, whatever their experience or background, to produce new collective artworks.

On Friday and Saturday, participants started from the g39 space, splitting up and taking photographs for 30 minutes. After reviewing the images as a group, one image from each person's camera was chosen and passed on to another in the group. This image was used as the source or inspiration to produce a new set of photographs from which one image was selected and so on...

The results are a vibrant series of linked photo poems which both explore the area around the g39 space and reflect the unique creative responses of each group. On Friday the participants were Gareth, Lawrence, Camilla, Clio, Kate W and David. The Friday PhotoRengas can be seen here. On Saturday the participants were Sonia, Kate H, Ryan, Kate W and David. The Saturday PhotoRengas can be seen here.

The one-day PhotoRenga workshops to date have previously been hosted by Ffotogallery in Penarth and the Hanbury Road Gallery in Bargoed. The PhotoRengas will be produced in an eBook and as an exhibition in the future.