ALT. CARDIFF If i t ’s o f f b e at a n d i n C a r d i f f , t h e n i t ’s i n h e r e
PICTURE IMPERFECT The struggles of young photographers in Cardiff
Januar y 2024 Issue 1
NEW in Cardiff? Another co-working winter With winter approaching and bills rising, Cardiff co-working spaces are once again the hottest spots in town. Cafes such as Uncommon Ground, KIN+ILK and Ffwrnais provide strong wifi, a warm space and a lively, social environment. Co-working offices are another alternative for those who are looking for a space with like-minded people. The Venetian restaurant Bacareto offers quiet co-working during the day in their dining room, while Tramshed Tech, another popular co-working hub, offers half-price day passes on Fridays for £10.
Working at night? Try this app A safety app initiative called Route Buddies is making walking around Cardiff safer for its night-time economy workers. The app has been developed by Cardiff University graduate Jack Blundell, and was created to help people get home safe by finding groups they can walk with. He is now partnering with bars across Cardiff to help staff during their journeys to and from a venue. As a new report reveals streets in the city centre are the most dangerous ones in the Welsh capital, the venue-based walking groups could reduce risk for those working late in to the night.
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Young and talented Here’s what Cardiff’s latest graduate photography exhibition is all about
Eszter Gurbicz A photography exhibition which provides a platform for graduate and emerging artists to network and showcase their work opened on 23 November and will run until the new year. Called Ffocws, it was organised for the second time, this year in collaboration between Ffotogallery and Cardiff MADE and features 14 photographers from Wales and Welsh Universities. “Being an artist can be quite a lonely job”, said Siân Addicott, director of Ffotogallery, who used to run a photography course in Swansea. Coming from such a
ALT.CARDIFF background she said she knew that starting a career in the creative industries was challenging, and so supporting graduates in the process was the main idea behind Ffocws. Jean Chan, 21, is one of the featured artists. Currently living in London, she graduated from Cardiff Metropolitan University last summer with a BA in Photography. “Especially now that I’m looking for a job, I feel like this is a great opportunity to show my work to people, create some connections and expand my network,” she said. The exhibition also features four photographers who do not come from a higher education programme. “It was really important that it wasn’t just graduates, and that everybody had the same opportunities to be selected,” said Cath Cains, who is learning and engagement manager at Ffotogallery. These artists were selected through an open call for the Higgins Photography Initiative, a sixmonth professional development programme run by Cardiff MADE, inspired by the work of the late photographer Tom Higgins. “He was an adult learner, he did not come to photography through a
Viv Collis is one of the graduate photographers featured at Ffocws, where visitors can see her work titled A Tangled Web. Photo by author
degree”, said Zoe Gingell, co-director of Cardiff MADE, who met the late artist through an open show back in 2020. She worked together with the Higgins Family to set up an exhibition posthumously, which then led to the development of the mentoring scheme. Ffocws is now open to the public at Ffotogallery until 12 January. To find out more visit www.ffotogallery.org.
Top left image by author. Bottom left image from Unsplash. Cover image by author
What’s
INTERVIEW Funky shirts are a must druing KC gigs. Photo by King Cerualean
It all led to Large starting a band Eszter Gurbicz There are many in Cardiff while at university back parallels between the professional in 2018. King Cerulean, whose and musician life of Tom Large. nine members are now working The 27-year-old, who works in TV all across the UK, has just released post-production, is just as passionate new music for the first time since about his daytime work where he their graduation. Braced with new manages his team as he is about songs and a matured ‘King Cerulean managing his band, King Cerulean. sound’, the band is preparing for its Sitting back on a couch with his biggest performance ever, playing the arms crossed, he looks comfortable O2 in Islington, London, later this reminiscing about the past. Large, month on 25 November. who has been living in Cardiff for It is difficult for Large to hide his almost 10 years now, was born into a excitement about the upcoming gig. musical family, and had a childhood centred around classical music. Having received his first I love the band so much. instrument – a cornet – at the And that’s why I’m going age of six, for a long time he was convinced he was going to to be doing this until I become a professional trumpet physically can’t anymore player. However, when he realised what studying classical music “I think the first time we played in would really look like, he decided it Welsh Club was the most excited “sounded very dull.” I’ve been. But this one! Now, this is He then happened to fall in love the gig I’m most excited about ever with post-production, as a result of doing. I can’t wait! It’s going to be a an A-level music editing assignment. party!” says the band’s leader, who is now also the rhythm guitarist It’s going to be a party alongside being a trumpet player. Discovering the sound that later influenced his music happened Living a double life by chance when he was asked to While both of his interests are in the audition for a job for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee as a trumpet player. creative field, the Large says “band Tom” and “work Tom” are quite That’s when he learned to play the different people. When on stage, he song Fishies by The Cat Empire, wears an Hawaiian print shirt and which he hasn’t stopped playing ever runs and jumps around energetically, since. “I just tunnel visioned, and I which is unlike his professional self. was like, ‘Right. That’s it. That’s my But choosing between the two would thing.’ So, I started writing that kind be impossible. “If a record label were of music,” he says. to turn around tomorrow and offer us a deal, it would be a really, really difficult decision,” he says. While music is not something he does as his day job, Large remains just as passionate about it as ever. “I love the band so much. And that’s why I’m going to be doing this until I physically can’t anymore. I’m going to be still up on stage when I’m 80, brushing dust off my shoulders. I ain’t going anywhere!” he declares.
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PLAYING WITH PASSION
Tom Large, leader of the Cardiff-born band King Cerulean, talks about balancing work and his hobby ahead of their biggest gig to date
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PICTURE
THE BIG
ALT.CARDIFF
Eszter Gurbicz
Despite some galleries in Wales setting up projects to support young photographers, opportunities are in decline, leaving artists wondering if the career they dreamed about might ever come true 4
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t’s 6.30am in the morning. Marcell Berendi, a 22-yearold graduate, wakes up to the blaring of his alarm. At 7am, it’s still dark outside as he hops on his bike and goes to work. If lucky, he might get to see the sunrise before the start of his shift in the supermarket warehouse at 7.30am. Next day the cycle continues. Photography, which should have been his career, is something he has very little time to think about. Berendi now lives a life common among photography graduates, who often end up in jobs that are unrelated to their degrees. According to Prospect, one of the UK’s leading career websites, 72.8% of photography graduates are employed 15 months after graduation. However, 34.6% of them end up working in sectors such as retail, catering and customer service. Compared to this, only 23.4% are in art, design and mediarelated jobs. Many others end up working freelance. Berendi, who completed his BA in photography last summer, says the reality of starting a career is something that only hits once out of university. “It’s hard to start. I assumed it would be. But it’s a lot harder to actually face it,” he admits.
FEATURE
A fierce competition Careers in the creative industries are compelling for young people, says Brian Carroll, 58-year-old photography enthusiast. Carroll, while a graphic designer by profession, has been fascinated by photography for a long time. He is now one of the two people behind Ffoton, a project bringing Welsh photography together. In the UK, there were 65,380 graduates in the field of design, creative and performing arts in 2022, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency. This places the subject area in the fourth place for most graduates within one field. The competition for jobs is intense. While there are numerous universities offering photography degrees, what their graduates are missing are opportunities. Reminiscing on the past when he first got into photography, Carroll explains that some of the biggest employers of photographers used to be media organisations and photography studios. Due to the decline of local newspapers, there is a diminishing need for professional photography in the press. Meanwhile, studios do not provide a satisfying enough career progression, nor good salaries, he says. Ffion Denman, 24, is a Cardiff-based emerging artist who started her journey in photography when she was 15. “My dad’s a photographer. So, I think that was my sort of way into seeing photography as an actual career rather than just a hobby,” she says. While studying photography at an undergraduate level, she also grew concerned about her chances of making it in the industry. “The grind was so hard,” she says, “so I was like ‘Am I driven enough to make it worth it?’” She eventually ended up doing a master’s degree in curation. Supporting emerging photographers For those leaning towards the fine art and documentary side of photography, Arts Council funded initiatives are one way to find support in an otherwise tough industry. One such project is Ffocws, Ffotogallery’s current exhibition, which was created to provide a platform for graduates and emerging photographers in Wales. This year’s showcase features fourteen artists, ten of which are graduate artists from Welsh Universities. Their works will be on display until 12 January 2024. “We travelled around Wales and selected between what we thought were the most innovative and interesting works, making the most relevant comments on what’s happening in society,” said Siân Addicott, director of Ffotogallery. The exhibition also features four artists from Wales selected through an open call for the Higgins Photography Initiative.This six-month-long mentoring programme is run by Cardiff MADE gallery, helping photographers
MEET THE ARTISTS
Photo by Ffion Denman
Ffion Denman
Denman in is a 24-year-old Cardiff and Swansea-based creative, with a master’s in curating and collection, doing documentary photography. Her photography projects often depict community experiences, with a praticluar focus on representation. She is one of the four artists who are now part of the Higgins Photography Initiative. Her work exhibited at Ffocws in Ffotogallery talks about cultural displacement and the values of Welsh identity in Patagonia.
Photo by Marcell Berendi
Marcell Berendi
Berendi is a 22-year-old Cardiffbased photographer, with a BA in photography from Cardiff Metropolitan University. He describes himself as a documentary and artistic photographer, with an interest in working with film. Berendi’s work from his graduate project which explores the issue of surveillance is now exhibited at Cardiff MADE gallery’s winter showcase until the end of December.
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ALT.CARDIFF develop their artistic portfolio. And while such projects can help artists get more exposure, their careers often remain uncertain. “Clients don’t want conceptual, clients want practical. You need to be working with clients who are commissioning photography, not art,” says Carroll, who has had nearly 60 conversations with photographers about their careers since starting Ffoton. Turning to the artistic side can make it more difficult to succeed in the industry, but it is not impossible, he concludes. A place for artists Despite not working directly as a photographer, Denman found a way to turn her passion into work. The Cardiff-
What is documentary photography? Traditionally, documentary photography provides a representation of people, places, objects and events. This style of photography is often seen as a driver for social change. Today’s artists use it to provide an alternative way of seeing the world around us. How is fine art photography different? Fine art photography uses the camera as the artistic medium of choice. The photographs are centred around a conceptual idea. It is often not commissioned but driven by an individual’s interest. To find out more about the story visit our website
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People have experiences and stories that need to be shared, and so there will always be a call for an artistic expression that’s outside of the commercial world - Ffion Denman
based creative often engages in workshops and freelance photography projects where she gets to help kids explore the world of cameras. She spent the first six months of this year in Argentina, teaching photography in different schools, while also working on her own photography project alongside it. Denman spent a lot of time abroad updating her father’s photography archive. On her days off she would visit local shops, bakeries and community events to talk to people and take photos. Such journeys always involved a lot of unknown. New people, new stories, new connections. On
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some days she got home with new images, on others, with new acquaintances. “What’s the point of having art, if it’s all commercial?,” asks Denman, who strongly believes in the power of photography she represents. While she agrees that it is commercial photography that makes money, she says documentary and fine art photography serves a different role in society. “People have experiences and stories that need to be shared, and so there will always be a call for an artistic expression that’s outside of the commercial world,” she argues. Reflecting on her experience, she considers herself lucky for getting an opportunity to explore her photographic practice. But it also ended in June. So, just like Berendi, for the past six months Denman has not had much time to pick up her camera.