New photography exhibition celebrates decade of creativity in South Wales Valleys

A new collaborative art exhibition by a French photographer and a Merthyr-born creative will mark ten years of creativity in the South Wales Valleys.

Amgueddfa Cymru’s ‘Ffasiwn’ exhibition presents photographs by French photographer Clémentine Schneidermann and valleys-born creative director Charlotte James.

The exhibition celebrates a decade of ‘It’s Called Ffasiwn’ – a project forged from a shared love of photography, fashion and creativity that is rooted in community.

Working under the studio name Bleak Fabulous, Schneidermann and James create work that is socially-engaged and participatory.

This exhibition presents a long-term creative collaboration with young people from Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil.

Since 2015 they have been working with the same collaborators to co-create photographs that sit at the edges of documentary photography, portraiture, fashion and performance.

The resulting pictures seek to reimagine perceptions of the region through photography, by focussing on the imagination and creativity of its future generations.

Clémentine Schneidermann, photographer said: “It is very special for us to have our project celebrated at the National Museum Cardiff, which started a grassroot project and developed as an epic collaboration.

“As the project reaches this milestone anniversary, we are thrilled to exhibit it in Wales for the first time in its entirety, featuring nearly sixty prints, films, and publications.”

The exhibition traces the evolution of It’s Called Ffasiwn over the last decade, from early works photographed as part of Schneidermann’s initial artist residency in Abertillery, to more recent collaborations.

It features two films made with the young people, one of which includes behind-the-scenes footage from the project.

The films are presented in a reimagined working women’s club that has been created by Schneidermann and James and offers a surreal glimpse into some of the vernacular landscapes that have inspired the pictures.

Before each photoshoot Schneidermann and James hosted creative workshops, giving the young collaborators opportunities to customise their clothing and learn skills such as sewing, photography, styling and set design.

Working with the communities in the valleys was especially important for Charlotte James whose upbringing in Merthyr Tydfil informs her work.

Many of her projects involve family, friends and local people as she explores different ways of collaborating through fashion, film and creative workshops.

This is not the first time Bleak Fabulous’ work has been featured at the Museum, with the photographs featuring in exhibitions including, The Valleys (2024); The Rules of Art? (2021) and Women in Focus (2019).

Following the success of the The Valleys exhibition in 2024, Ffasiwn continues Amgueddfa Cymru’s commitment to highlight community-focused stories and contemporary Welsh photography.

Curator Bronwen Colquhoun said: “We are thrilled to be presenting Ffasiwn in the photography gallery at National Museum Cardiff.

“Photographs from the project have featured in exhibitions we have staged in the past but this presents an opportunity to trace the evolution of the work over ten years, to show never-before-seen photographs, and to celebrate all that Clémentine, Charlotte and the young people have achieved through this collaboration.”

Amgueddfa Cymru’s exhibitions and public engagements programme is made possible thanks to players of Postcode Lottery.

Ffasiwn opens on 23 May and runs until April 2027. For more information and to book tickets, visit www.museum.wales.