Join Chloe Davies and Sam McGuire for a talk exploring Francesca Odell’s archive and work, part of Ffoto Cymru 2026.

Join Chloe Davies and Sam McGuire, co-curators of Francesca Odell: Coping With and Enjoying Life, for an exhibition talk and private view. Chloe and Sam will discuss the research that led to the rediscovery of Francesca Odell’s archive, before introducing key photographs from the exhibition.

Between 1983 and 1985, while enrolled on the documentary photography course at Gwent College of Higher Education in Newport, Francesca Odell (1951–2022) produced a body of work that led to exhibitions, commissions, and publication in magazines. Odell’s photographs of women bodybuilders, single parent dads and young families living in the South Wales Valleys provide intimate insights into the lives of the people she photographed while offering commentary on contemporary social issues. Chloe and Sam will discuss how Odell’s work was received during her lifetime and consider its relevance today.

Francesca Odell: Coping With and Enjoying Life is on at The Turner House, Penarth from 4 October to 8 November 2026. The exhibition is curated by Sam McGuire and Chloe Davies as part of Ffoto Cymru 2026.

Please note: Turner House has two floors, and the top floor is accessible via stairs only. If you have any access requirements, please contact us in advance at info@ffotogallery.org

About:

Sam McGuire is a writer and researcher specialising in histories of documentary photography and more inclusive stories of art. She is currently an ESRC-funded doctoral researcher at Cardiff University researching the Valleys Project Archive at Ffotogallery. Recent publications include Great Women Photographers (Phaidon, 2026), ‘Life Reflected Back, Loud and Clear’ (Tate Papers no.38: Voice/s in the Museum, (https://www.tate.org.uk/research/tate-papers/38/life-reflected-back-loud-and-clear) 2026) and Earthly Paradise: A Reader (William Morris Gallery, 2026). Between 2014 and 2025, Sam was a curator in the Research and Interpretation department at Tate, working on exhibitions and displays including The 80s: Photographing Britain (2024) and Women in Revolt! (2023). Between 2018 and 2024, she was an associate lecturer on the Curating the Art Museum MA at Courtauld Institute of Art, and has been a trustee of Photo Oxford since 2024. Sam grew up in the Vale of Glamorgan and is based in London and Cardiff.

Chloe Davies is a Wales-based arts and heritage practicioner and photographer. She works with photographic archive collections and photobook libraries, supporting artists, researchers and the public to engage with photographic histories in Wales and beyond. Chloe is committed to making the archives and collections she works with more accessible and inclusive.

Chloe currently manages Ffotogallery’s collection, overseeing its preservation, cataloguing and accessibility. In 2024-2026, she led the HLF-funded digitisation project of Ffotogallery’s largest photographic collection, The Valleys Project. She leads the Feminist Library programme at Ffotogallery, advocating for the visibility and representation of women in photographic history.

Part of Ffoto Cymru 2026 (https://www.ffotogallery.org/ffoto-cymru-2026-about), Wales' International Festival of Photography

Image: Francesca Odell, Mark and his new niece, in their new home. Garden Village, Gilfach Goch. 1985

Description supplied by the event organiser.