16 October 2024—20 April 2025

Bristol Photo Festival: Dreamlines

During summer 2023, Bristol Photo Festival, in collaboration with Historic England and Bristol City Council, invited 14 photographers to collaborate with local communities, creating a portrait of Bristol today.

Now it’s your chance to see these images in an exhibition at M Shed. 

Highlights 

  • Clementine Schneidermann collaborated with the Shire Stitchers, a local textiles group based in Shirehampton, to create a series of quilts that included new photographic portraits of the women involved. 
  • After researching Two Mile Hill’s historic brass band parade – which in its heyday draw 10,000 participants – Sebastian Bruno worked with current members of the local Salvation Army to restage the parade today.   
  • Jessie Edwards-Thomas and Kelly O’Brien worked with elders from Acta Community Theatre to explore overlooked histories of working class labour in South Bristol.  
  • After finding an image of Shirehampton Men’s Social Club from 1951, Chris Hoare set out to document the club today, creating an updated portrait of its membership.  
  • Esther May-Campbell set herself the challenge of photographing every business along Church Road. Along the way she photographed local families, religious leaders, undertakers, key cutters, hairdressers and many more besides.  
  • Grounded in the desire to increase the visibility of women of colour, Jade Carr-Daley joined a group for young mothers that meets regularly on Stapleton Road. Together they created a series of portraits that examine experiences of Black motherhood.  

The full line-up of photographers 

Khali Ackford, Michael Alberry, Sebastian Bruno, Esther May Campbell, Jade Carr-Daley, Yuko Edwards, Mohammad Hassan, Chris Hoare, Kirsty Mackay, Lua Ribeira, Clementine Schneidermann, Mikael Techane and Jessie Edwards Thomas & Kelly O’Brien. 

©Photo: Sebastian Bruno 

With thanks to

Bristol Photo Festival – Historic England – M Shed – Bristol Culture