Exhibition of young people's photography launched in Bognor Regis

Featuring hundreds of photos by Felpham Community College and Edward Bryant Primary School pupils, the exhibition shows Bognor Regis from a range of distinct, not to mention personal, perspectives.

Forget sun-dappled shots of the pier and the Picturedrome, the ‘Our Town’ project is defined by photos of the everyday objects which occupy the lives of its young artists: everything from bookshelves to handsoap.

To create the pictures, students worked with acclaimed photographer Lewis, who said his goal was to get young people thinking about their hometown in new and interesting ways.

"It’s been the most fun I’ve had doing anything,” he said. “The students blew me away and surprised me everyday, because I set impossible standards and they beat them every time.”

For him, the best part of the experience was getting to know the young people he mentored better: “I could pretty much tell who has taken what just by looking at the photo, and that’s the whole point of what I’m trying to start.”

The students themselves had a similarly positive response, Felpham Community College art teacher Jennifer Tompkins said the project was a real experience for the young people involved. “All these photos are taken on proper 35mm digital SLRs, proper cameras that they’ve never really handled before. So Lewis had to teach them not just how to take and compose a photo, but how to actually use the settings and do everything properly. So it’s been a real steep learning curve, but amazing for them.

"Part of the project was to show them that art and photography could be a career. We selected the students we did because we thought they’d get something out of it, and everyone who took part has said ‘we’re taking GCSE photography,’ and that’s like the first step – it’s about getting them to think ‘that’s something I can do.’

The exhibition is the culmination of the ‘Our Town’ project, which started back in September and was organised by arts charity Artswork in tandem with Arun District Council and the Bognor Regis Business Improvement District (BID). After opening on Saturday (October 22) the exhibition will remain open until October 29.

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