Born and raised in Monmouthshire, though currently living in America, the award-winning photographer Will Davies doesn’t let air miles keep him from his homeland. In late 2023, he took part in an event run by the Visual Arts Mapping Monmouthshire initiative (VAMM) via Zoom from the USA.
“I was contacted by the project coordinators Ann Sumner and Beth McIntyre, who were carrying out a mapping exercise to locate visual artists and creatives in the Monmouthshire area”, says Will. "They'd come across my photography work and wanted to find out more about me.”
Will’s story is a tale of hiraeth, where Wales is always in the back of his mind: “I grew up in Usk, having moved there when I was just two years old. After school, I went away to university and then came back for a bit, but my work in the finance industry seems to have pulled me outside of Wales ever since.
“I work for an international organisation focused on economic development, so photography is a side interest for me. Saying that, my love of photography grew out of a work project years ago. I moved to Africa at the time when cameras were just starting to become accessible for people who didn't know what they were doing. Ethiopia and Kenya are incredibly photogenic places, so I picked up the hobby there in my spare time.
Wales is always home, but since my early twenties I haven’t lived there permanently. When the COVID period came, where we could suddenly work from anywhere, I felt like Wales was as good a place as any; it was a great excuse to spend an extended period back home. There wasn't much we could do then because of lockdown restrictions, so I spent a lot of time outdoors with my camera, in fields, amongst the mountains and along the coast.
One photograph taken during this period catapulted his reputation as a photographer, winning him the title of Landscape Photographer of the Year 2022. ‘Brecon in winter’ captures the quiet, natural beauty of Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons National Park) with distant snowy peaks in the background and sunlit fields in the foreground on an overcast day.
Despite its success, Will found it difficult to get his winning photo on public display in Wales. “It was hard because there wasn’t a permanent hub or community I could go to for help,” he says. “That's a shame because this was the first time an image from Wales won the competition. I felt like there should be places that promote Wales and its creatives in a positive light, but I couldn’t find them. There were a couple of photography societies in Chepstow and Hay On Wye, but no real networks that could help me.”
Fortunately, a CICH Monmouthshire event gave Will the opportunity to finally air his award-winning photograph locally. At one of VAMM’s Creative Conversations sessions in Usk, Will dialed in from thousands of miles away to tell local artists and craftspeople in Monmouthshire about his work, life and the impact of the competition - accompanied by a print of his award-winning photograph.
After his talk, attendees discussed creative activity in the Usk area and what a future Monmouthshire-wide visual arts network might look like, in terms of its support of local creative industries, driving collaboration and bringing about growth across the region.
While he doesn’t currently live in Wales, Will often wonders what it’d be like to move back and pursue his passion for photography: “If there was better support for creatives, and if it was easier to find venues to showcase my work, that would give me a bit more confidence in the idea. For now, I've got a career that I find interesting and have no major desire to leave, but it’s fun to ponder.
From being involved in the visual arts in Monmouthshire, I can see opportunities for things that would hugely benefit similar creatives in the area. It's not that we need space or equipment, necessarily; it's support with the promotional side of things, securing exhibitions, networking and forming bonds amongst industry members. There is a lot of potential here to show off and grow the incredible talent we have in the Cardiff Capital Region; we just need the right support in place to help make that happen.
