Exhibition to celebrate photographer Rhonda Wilson
An invitation to the exhibition, Seeing Rhonda, and launch of the Rhonda Wilson Community Archive, Thursday 25 June, 6-8pm at The Old Print Works, 498-506 Moseley Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham, B12 9AH.
Exhibition dates: 23 – 27 June and Saturday 11 July, 11am-5pm
The work, activism and far-reaching influence of Birmingham photographer Rhonda Wilson are being celebrated through a new exhibition, Seeing Rhonda, and the launch of a community archive led by Birmingham City University (BCU) and The Old Print Works.
Opening at The Old Print Works in Balsall Heath, the exhibition marks the public debut of the Rhonda Wilson Community Archive – a living, community-rooted collection. The archive is under the guardianship of The Old Print Works.
Together, the exhibition and archive span over three decades of Wilson’s work, from the 1980s to the 2010s. Photographs, letters, posters and publications sit alongside personal notes, sketches and overlooked ephemera, revealing not just what Wilson created, but how she worked, collaborated and built opportunities for others.
The project was initiated by Dr Annette Naudin, Associate Professor at BCU, in partnership with The Old Print Works and in collaboration with PRISM Photography Network.
Dr Naudin said: “It is very fitting to have Rhonda’s archive in Balsall Heath where, in 1989, she set up the Poseurs Studio and Gallery with fellow photographer Ming de Nasty. The process of uncovering letters of thanks, rolls of her photographs and her personal notes is both exciting and profoundly moving.”
Seeing Rhonda presents Wilson as more than a photographer. As a cultural entrepreneur, journalist, educator and activist, she spent over 30 years championing others and reshaping the photography landscape in Birmingham and beyond. Wilson’s constructed social documentary style of photography was underpinned by her commitment to addressing issues of women’s representation, low pay and homelessness.
From co-founding Poseurs Studio and Gallery in the late 1980s to developing influential initiatives such as Seeing the Light (founded 1995) and Rhubarb-Rhubarb (founded 1999). Personal letters included in the archive offer a powerful insight into Wilson’s impact, documenting how her support shaped careers and opened doors for emerging photographers. The archive and exhibition bring into focus the contributions of women too often absent from formal collections, and reframing Birmingham’s cultural history through their work.
Highlights include a number of posters from the Worth Paying For campaign: striking photographic panels which combine staged imagery with testimonies from women workers, exposing pay inequality in female-dominated industries during the 1980s.
Housed at The Old Print Works, the Rhonda Wilson Community Archive is an evolving project that returns Wilson’s legacy to Balsall Heath, where she lived and established Poseurs Studio in the late 1980s.
“We are delighted to host the Rhonda Wilson Community Archive here at The Old Print Works and to have the opportunity to shine a light on this important part of the city’s cultural history,” said Hannah Greenwood and Rebecca Tura, Interim Co-CEOs, The Old Print Works.
“Rhonda’s influence and impact on photographers and creatives is evident and we look forward to developing the archive further.”
For BCU, the project reflects a commitment to research that connects directly with communities and reshapes how stories are preserved and shared.
The exhibition, Seeing Rhonda, runs at The Old Print Works (11am-5pm) from Tuesday 23 June until Saturday 27 June, and on Saturday 11 July, as part of Balsall Heath Second Saturday. Free entry.
For more information, follow @bhamlookingback or please contact research lead Dr Annette Naudin at annette.naudin@bcu.ac.uk