Photographer
Cordelia Weedon
Photography workshops: Pinhole / Analogue / Digital
I have a BA Hons degree in Photography from Wolverhampton University. During my degree I researched and wrote my dissertation on how photography can work in the community context. I have worked both as a professional photographer, and a tutor teaching photography at FE and HE levels. I have a keen interest in documentary photography, and how it can work in the community context, in particular participatory photography working with different groups of people. Through this commitment I became one of the founding members of Arts Connection in 1993.
From 2000 – 2008 I worked part time as the project worker for Photoworks Westminster, a charity specialising in using participatory photography as a way of working with often challenging groups in the community. During the first 4 years I worked with adults with mental health issues, as part of the New Life for Paddington initiative, and for the last 4 years I worked mainly with young people. During my 8 years at Photoworks I had a lot of experience that extended beyond just teaching photography, working with a wide variety of people from different ethnic groups. I really enjoyed the process of enabling people to use photography and writing as a way of expressing themselves, and giving them a voice of their own and showing the work through exhibitions and publications.
I am currently working on a Wales Africa Photo Diaries project through a local charity Dolen Ffermio (Farming Link). It is a project linking schools in Wales and Uganda, and I have worked with 4 schools in Wales through Arts Connection and Oriel Davies, and 3 schools in Kumi, Uganda, with plans to work with more schools. It is a long-term project, not only linking schools, but also about raising awareness of issues through the voices of the young people involved in the project.
Throughout my career I have worked both on my own and in collaboration with other artists. Early on I worked with Steven Berkoff on his early productions of Macbeth and Kafka. I have documented various sculpture works in Wales, the Midlands and Russia. More recently I have collaborated with writers and filmmakers on digital story, and short film projects. There is a permanent exhibition of my work showing in the café at Ruthin Craft Centre, and a short film Hiraeth showing in their Cultural Gateway.
August 2010
