USW graduate and lecturer create new photography exhibition for National Museum Cardiff

A new photography exhibition by University of South Wales graduate Clémentine Schneidermann and Fashion lecturer Charlotte James has opened at National Museum Cardiff, celebrating a decade of creativity in the South Wales valleys.

Image © Clémentine Schneidermann and Charlotte James

Ffasiwn – a collection of 56 images by French photographer Clémentine and Merthyr-born creative director Charlotte – marks 10 years of It’s Called Ffasiwn, a project forged from a shared love of photography, fashion and creativity rooted in community.

Working under the studio name Bleak Fabulous, Clémentine and Charlotte create work that is socially-engaged and participatory. This exhibition is a result of 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 challenge assumptions about who fashion is for, and who gets to shape the way communities are seen.

Rather than observing from a distance, the work is created through sustained relationships, shared making and collaboration, with young people acting as creative partners throughout the process. These images seek to reimagine perceptions of the region through photography, by focusing on the imagination and creativity of its future generations. 

The exhibition traces the evolution of It’s Called Ffasiwn over the last decade, from early works photographed as part of Clémentine’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 Clémentine and Charlotte, and offers a surreal glimpse into some of the vernacular landscapes that have inspired the pictures. 

Before each photoshoot, Clémentine and Charlotte 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,  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.  

Charlotte said: “This exhibition avoids nostalgic or simplified portrayals of the Valleys. Instead, it foregrounds contemporary creativity, humour and ambition, reflecting the energy and imagination already present within local communities. It invites audiences to engage with photography and fashion as living, collaborative practices - shaped by real people, in real places, on their own terms.”

Clémentine, who studied Documentary Photography and her PhD at USW, is now an associate lecturer at the University. She added: “It is very special for us to have our project celebrated at National Museum Cardiff, which started a grassroots 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 60 prints, films, and publications.”

Bronwen Colquhoun, Senior Curator of Photography at Amgueddfa Cymru, said: “We are thrilled to be hosting 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.” 

Ffasiwn runs at National Museum Cardiff until April 2027. For more information and to book tickets, visit www.museum.wales.