Photographs capturing the spirit of St Pauls have gone on permanent display for the entire community to enjoy.
The new-look St Pauls Learning Centre along Grosvenor Road is now decorated with 20 black and white images, which were taken by groups including refugees and recovering addicts using cheap disposable cameras.
With art galleries still closed due to the ongoing national lockdown, it is one of the few exhibitions in Bristol currently accessible to the public.
The 'My Bristol' project was led by the Real Photography Company, a community interest company based at the learning centre, which works to keep traditional darkroom photography alive.
Between June 2018 and March 2019 they taught basic photography skills to a group of refugees, asylum seekers, people recovering from addiction and over-50s housed by LiveWest, all living in areas of inner city Bristol.
Equipped with basic 'point and shoot' disposable cameras, they were sent out to practice their newly-learnt skills, with some heading to St Pauls Carnival to document the vibrant parade.
Justin Quinnell, one of the directors at the Real Photography Company, said: "We gave them all a little £5 disposable black and white camera and taught them a bit about photography and how to just point and shoot a camera.
"It was completely new for them - they might have used a mobile phone, but we went through the technical side of it.
"It's so good to be able to create a memorable experience - there's a whole lot of opportunity for wonder and it's a very cross-curriculum experience."
The exhibition is part of a wider transformation of the building's exterior along Grosvenor Road, which was recently painted with a vibrant mural along its length as part of a wider project called the Green Way.
Justin said: "People have been milling around saying it's lovely to have some pictures in the local area, and it's lovely to see the St Paul's Carnival images again from a couple of years ago.
"Bristol is known for it's street art and it's nice to be able to make publicly accessible images."
'Magic of the darkroom'
Ruth Jacobs, another of the CIC's directors, said they were "really pleased" with the quality of the photos the group returned with.
She added: "They enjoyed the magic of the darkroom, especially especially watching the image emerge."
Some of the photos have already been exhibited, including at Glen's Kitchen, but the permanent display had to wait until a planned refurbishment of the learning centre's exterior and was only unveiled this month.
Ruth used to work at Watershed cinema and media centre in Bristol, managing the darkrooms that used to be there before they moved to St Pauls.
She said the dawn of digital photography meant "everyone was seduced by Photoshop", including herself for a time.
The Real Photography Company is working to keep the traditional art of darkroom photography going - more information is available on its website.
