More Than A Game

Internationally exhibited Wales based photographer Faye Chamberlain has taken up an artist residency with the Football Association of Wales (FAW) Trust, touring Wales to capture the game’s impact on the nation. The six-month residency project, titled ‘More than a game’ will culminate this summer with an exhibition at Dragon Park in Newport. Although this is the first sports-related residency for the Cardiff photographer it follows on from her ongoing photography project Football Focus which has turned the camera on the football supporters during the World Cup from 1998 to date, and was most recently exhibited as part of the group show Tale of Two Cities celebrating the 60th anniversary of the twinning of Stuttgart and Cardiff. which toured in both Germany and Cardiff as Part of Diffusion Festival – Cardiff International Festival of Photography. While Chamberlain will be travelling around Wales for photo shoots, she will also be running photography workshops in selected communities across the country. The social documentary photographer explains how she hopes to record how football impacts upon our lives: “My work encompasses a broad range of styles including landscape and portraiture, and centres on people exploring their relationship and impact upon each other and their surroundings. This residency will enable me to work with a subject that rouses immense passions. Football impacts upon our lives in all kinds of ways - it affects our landscapes, our social lives and, of course, it can rule our TV schedules. The people of Wales’ focus might be on Gareth Bale, Chris Coleman and the games, but I want to show a side to Welsh football that is just as important” ‘More than a game’ has been commissioned by EMP Projects – a Cardiff-based art consultancy and. has received financial support from Arts Council Wales Nick Capaldi, Chief Executive of Arts Council of Wales said: "We are really excited about Faye’s appointment. Sports and the arts alike bring real benefits to individuals and make significant and positive contributions to many aspects of our lives. We look forward to seeing some of the stories of the devotion and passion of football supporters and participants in community groups across Wales being captured on camera." Chamberlain will be blogging throughout the residency at www.farmorethanjustagame.wordpress.com