Féile 23 under way with ‘Picture This – A Camerawork Retrospective’

PICTURED ABOVE: THAT'S MY GRANNY!. . . . The late Roisin Barton's daughter Aine pictured with Roisin's granddaughters Clodagh, Roisin and Seorlaith at the 'Camerawork Picture This' exhibition outside Pilot's Row Centre on Friday evening. The exhibition was the opening event of this year's Gasyard Feile 23. (Photos: Jim McCafferty Photography)

Derry's largest and longest running community arts festival, Féile, got underway on Friday evening with the launch of 'Picture This - A Camerawork Retrospective' at Rossville Street. 

The exhibition curated by Derry artist and photographer, Jim Collins, features 50 photographs taken by Camerawork photographers in Derry in the 1980's.

IN PICTURES: Féile 23 ‘Picture This – A Camerawork Retrospective’ exhibition

Photos: Jim McCafferty Photography

Camerawork Darkrooms Derry (Camerawork) was established in 1982 in Derry’s Bogside to provide local people with the tools that would enable them to create their own black and white images.

Derry in the 1980’s resembled a war zone and it was not an uncommon sight to see international journalists capturing images of that conflict.

It was against this backdrop that Camerawork photographers began recording everyday life in the city from its citizen’s viewpoint.

IN PICTURES: Féile 23 'Consider The Women of Ireland' event pays tribute to the late Roisin Barton

Photos: Jim McCafferty Photography

In existence for over a decade, a huge archive was amassed numbering several thousand negatives that provide a fascinating portrayal of a people and place.

‘Picture this’ offers an opportunity for local people to cast their minds back at a time when everything appeared black and white.

IN PICTURES: Féile 23 'Big Bog Barbecue'

Photos: Jim McCafferty Photography

The exhibition runs until August 30 at Pilots Row, Rossville Street.