On Friday 25th February a workshop was held with young people of Coventry at Positive Choices in City Arcade. The young people were guided to make their own pinhole cameras from recycled materials and produce portraits in response to the exhibition of works from the British Museum in the arcade.
The workshop was an exciting full day of hands-on experimentation with materials. For the young people, it was the first time they had worked with light sensitive materials in a photographic darkroom and the opportunity to process their pictures through the darkroom chemicals under red safelights was described as 'magical.' The process de-mystified photographic technology, un-blackboxing cameras and explaining how the cameras that they use on a daily basis work cased within their mobile phones. Making images using light was a step away from this technology, understanding the fundamental elements that make up photography.
Throughout the day, photographs were made in City Arcade and further around the city, using the Coventry's mid-century architecture as a background. The act of placing the can cameras down on the ground to obtain sharp images generated a closer way of seeing and touching the mid-century textures of Coventry - a physical proximity with the fabric of the city.
Framed images of the day will stay in the space for the young people of Positive Choices to celebrate the fantastic work they produced.
The framed images above are on the way to the arcade to tell the story of the day and show off the best images made by the young people presented in a way which fits with the cosy, home-like interior of the Positive Choices space.
Photographs by Ruby Nixon
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