Bleak Fabulous x Jukebox Collective
Launching on 24th Feb in celebration of St Davids Day (1st March 2025), Jukebox Collective and Bleak Fabulous take over Cardiff in an outdoor and digital campaign reimagining traditional Welsh costume, envisioned through the creative lens of Jukebox Academy.
The collaborative project led by Creative Director Charlotte James and Photographer Clémentine Schneidermann explores Welsh heritage, inspired by the iconic Welsh hat, using the national iconography as a starting point to reflect on Wales' cultural roots and its identity today. Shot around Butetown and Cardiff Bay, home to one of the UK’s oldest Black communities, the project celebrates a modern-day Wales that connects tradition with diverse cultural identities.
Beginning in 2021 through a series of creative workshops with the students from Jukebox Academy, a programme supporting the next generation of Welsh creative talent. The students, ages 7 to 16 took part in workshops on costume design, styling, photography, illustration, and art direction. These sessions encouraged an exploration of Welsh pride and identity, where students gained new creative skills like moodboarding, styling, and customisation, leveraging their heritage as a guide for expression.
Working with Welsh costume designer Ffian Jones, the students engaged in a hat creation workshop, modernising the traditional item by imbuing it with their unique creative and cultural influences. They also incorporated other elements of Welsh national dress into their costumes, such as the red woollen cloak, paisley shawl, and Pais a Betgwn.
For this St Davids Day, limited edition t-shirts, postcards, and the editorial zine celebrating the imagery from the project will be available to purchase online and in our pop-up at St Fagans National Museum on 1st March, with all sale proceeds are reinvested into Jukebox Academy.
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Bleak Fabulous
Bleak Fabulous is a photography-based creative studio that combines youth work, creative workshops, and documentary photography. It is led by French photographer Clementine Schneidermann and Welsh creative director Charlotte James.
They work with professional artists, communities, and youth workers to deliver workshops to young people living in underfunded areas. The workshops are centred on costume making, photography, set design, and creative writing. The workshops allow the young people to collaborate and be a part of the image-making process as well as introducing them to new creative skills.
Jukebox Collective
Jukebox is a community-rooted, youth-led collective nurturing tomorrow’s creative voices. Their Academy specialises in artist development through multi-disciplinary workshops, mentorship and creative industry insight sessions.
They have a track record of developing talent and producing creative work at the forefront of Welsh culture. Their expansive portfolio has seen them partner with global changemakers from Jamaica to West Africa through an intersection of youth culture, dance, music and more.