bleak fabulous x jukebox collective

Jukebox Collective & Bleak Fabulous share photography series exploring Welsh heritage

30 Oct 2024 — Bleak Fabulous and Jukebox Collective launch their editorial series and zine exploring Welsh heritage as envisioned through the creative lens of young people in Cardiff. Shot around Butetown and Cardiff Bay, home to one of the UK’s oldest Black communities, the project celebrates a modern-day Wales that connects tradition with diverse cultural identities.

The project led by Charlotte James and Clémentine Schneidermann involved a series of creative workshops with students from Jukebox Collective’s Academy, a programme supporting the next generation of Welsh creative talent. The students, ages 7 to 16 and primarily from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds, took part in workshops on costume design, styling, photography, illustration, and art direction. These sessions encouraged an exploration of Welsh pride and identity, where students gained new creative skills like moodboarding, styling, and customization, leveraging their heritage as a guide for expression.

Inspired by the iconic Welsh hat, dating back to the nineteenth century, the project used this national iconography as a creative launching point. Working with Welsh costume designer Ffian Jones, the students engaged in a hat creation workshop, modernising the traditional item by imbuing it with their unique creative and cultural influences. They also incorporated other elements of Welsh national dress into their costumes, such as the red woollen cloak, paisley shawl, and Pais a Betgwn.

Schneidermann photographed the finished outfits in Butetown and Cardiff Bay, while James oversaw the creative direction. The images reflect the playful nature of the participants’ self-exploration, combining social documentary, fashion, and formal portraiture. The costumes’ rich colours set against the subtle greys and whites of Butetown’s homes serve as a reminder for the evolving identities within these communities: old, diverse and full of life against its post-industrialised past and emerging present.

Notes to editors

Welsh national dress emerged in the nineteenth century, responding to a surge of interest in the increased use of the Welsh language and the desire to create a sartorial identity. It consists of a red woollen cloak, a paisley shawl worn around the shoulders, the Pais a Betgwn, a puffy petticoat-like skirt, a Betgwn, a white classically woollen bedgown, and a tall black hat, an elongated version of a bowler hat, known today simply as the Welsh hat. And additional elements such a cotton or linen mob cap, plus an apron and stockings.

Bleak Fabulous

Bleak Fabulous is a photography-based creative studio that combines youth work, creative workshops, and documentary photography. It is led by French photographer Clementine Schneidermann and Welsh creative director Charlotte James.

They work with professional artists, communities, and youth workers to deliver workshops to young people living in underfunded areas. The workshops are centred on costume making, photography, set design, and creative writing. The workshops allow the young people to collaborate and be a part of the image-making process as well as introducing them to new creative skills.