Three packed days at The EYE
Last weekend's EYE Festival got off to a great start on Friday evening with an extremely busy opening event for the new David Hurn 'Patterns' exhibition - so big congratulations to Marc and Justin at the Clwb Ffoto gallery in Newport Arcade.
A special mention should go to the group of ten photography students (above) who travelled up from Falmouth for the day to be at the Patterns opening, then headed back down again after the event.
Sadly, their enthusiasm was in stark contrast to the very obvious low number of students from courses in south Wales at the fantastic speaker event the following day. I started writing a short paragraph here to reflect on why this might have been the case, and found myself getting deeper into it - so the result, a short essay-of-sorts, is available at the end of this Newsletter for paying supporters who, I hope, will add their own thoughts and comments after reading.
Anyway, Patterns will run from 15 May – 12 June in Clwb Ffoto, with a new 52-page printed catalog accompanying the exhibition, with a limited number still available from the gallery and now also here via the Offline website.
The main speaker day on Saturday 16 May had a good number of attendees at The Riverfront theatre to hear four professional photographers present fantastic bodies of very different work.
EYE Festival images by/© Adam Davies, Glenn Edwards and Nick Treharne
Ben Woolhead has written a very fine review of the festival for Buzz magazine - available to read online here: https://www.buzzmag.co.uk/eye-festival-photography-newport-2026-review-feature/ Nice job Ben.
I'd like to thank everyone who came out on Sunday 17th for both the photozine meet at Clwb Ffoto in the morning, and then at The Place Arts Centre over lunchtime to chat over new project ideas for possible inclusion in the next CHAOTIC cohort and the related publication. I'll get back to you in coming weeks.
PATTERNS
David Hurn
15 May - 12 June 2026
Clwb Ffoto, Newport Arcade, Newport NP20 1GD
@clwb_ffoto on Instagram
Out now - Offline Journal #015 'ARCHIVE'
The new printed issue of Offline Journal made its debut last Saturday at The EYE Festival in Newport. So, as it's a Bank Holiday weekend, and to try and keep some of the positive EYE Festival vibe going, I have five copies of the new 108-page Offline issue #015 available with a FREE copy of David Hurn's 52-page 'Pattern' catalog - freshly signed by the Magnum photographer!
This special offer – limited to just five bundles – is only available here on the Offline Newsletter on a first-come first-served basis until midnight Tuesday 26th May via the order button below. (£18 plus P&P) one order per customer, UK customers only)
If you miss out on this bundle, copies of both Offline Journal #015 and 'Patterns' catalog 007 are available separately on the Offline Journal store
Here are some preview spreads from the new issue of Offline...
spreads from Offline Journal issue #015 (May 2026)
spreads from Offline Journal issue #015 (May 2026)
Offline Journal - new Subscription options
From midday this Friday 29 May, there will be three simple options that, hopefully, cater to different preferences for how people would like to support Offline Journal's efforts going forward.
- Online Newsletter and website content.
- Printed Offline Journal in May 2027, plus Newsletter and website content. 10% discount on catalog and other selected printed supplements.
- Printed Offline Journal in May 2027, plus CHAOTIC #2 printed publication, plus Newsletter and website content. 20% discount on catalog and other selected printed supplements.
Each will now offer either monthly Subscription payments, or a single annual payment. Full information and T&Cs will also be available on the website from this Friday.
Subscriptions will now be handled on offline.wales rather than Offline's Big Cartel online store. This will allow Subscribers to easily check their Subscription status at any time, just by logging in to offline.wales
EYE FESTIVAL – Exhibitions
I've been told the EYE Festival exhibitions in Newport city centre will remain open for the next week, so here is a reminder of the venues and shows for reference...
Clwb Ffoto:
DAVID HURN – PATTERNS
Gallery 57:
PAUL REAS – Fables of Faubus, Made in Newport
NEIL BENNETT – Australia from Above
Market Arcade:
RON McCORMICK – Newport Streets (Ongoing Project)
ELERI GRIFFITHS – Appleby Fair Portraits
ROB NORMAN – Welsh Politics
ROGER TILEY – Modern America: Travelling from East to West
NICK TREHARNE – Wales and its people
ADAM DAVIES – The last cattle market in Cardigan
News, articles, interviews & more.
Choose a SubscriptionBeyond the Lecture Theatre: Students, Festivals and Practice
A short essay by Offline's Brian Carroll reflecting on the challenge of stressing the value of photography festivals and local events to students and graduates. (This essay is for Offline Journal's paying Newsletter and printed Journal subscribers).
One of the recurring, hand-wringing contradictions in photography education today is that students often want professional insight, industry access and meaningful contact with working photographers, yet may not always attend the very events where these things are readily available.
As demonstrated by The EYE Festival last weekend, when a local photography festival brings internationally respected practitioners to Wales, students, as seems so often the case, can be thin on the ground. This raises an uncomfortable, but useful, question: what is the student’s responsibility to their own professional practice?
This is not a simple matter of blaming students. Attendance is never just about enthusiasm. Many students work part-time jobs, commute long distances, manage family responsibilities, struggle with confidence, or simply cannot afford tickets, travel, food and accommodation. Others, perhaps many, may not yet understand the value of such events because they are still thinking of photography education as something that happens mainly in the studio, seminar room or module brief. A student who does not attend a festival is not necessarily lazy or indifferent. They may be behind with studies, under-informed, anxious, or unsure whether such events are really “for them”.
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