DAVID HURN – NEWPORT DOCUMENTARY COURSE
When David Hurn set up his documentary photography course in 1973, the idea was simple… half a century later, its legacy continues. Amy Davies interviewed teachers and students past and present to find out more
In 1973, Magnum photographer David Hurn established the now world-famous Documentary Photography course in Newport.
Now running at the University of South Wales (USW) in Cardiff, this year it celebrates an amazing 50 years.
Knowing just how many well-respected alumni it had, not to mention the luminaries who had taught on it over the years, an anniversary piece seemed like an obvious idea. I had little clue that it would end up spanning more than 20 different interviews with a broad range of people – and I could have gone on to interview dozens, if not hundreds, more.
Such is the influence of this course, that every time you speak to someone, they insist that you really ought to get in contact with this person, or that person. I’ve no doubt that an entire book could be written on the impact this school has had on British (and even global) documentary photography.
Since it began in 1973, the list of names who taught on the course, either regularly or as guest speakers, includes (but is certainly not limited to) David Hurn, Daniel Meadows, Ken Grant, Paul Reas, Martin Parr, Josef Koudelka, Clive Landen, Ian Walker, Ron McCormack, Celia Jackson, Lisa Barnard, Sir Tom Hopkinson, Don McCullin, Keith Arnatt, John Charity, Barry Lewis, Bill Jay, Roger Hutchins, Patrick Sutherland, Paul Graham, David Barnes, Peter Fraser, Paul Seawright, Jon Benton Harris and far more besides.
Meanwhile, the alumni list is just as illustrious. It includes (but again is not limited to) Simon Norfolk, Ivor Prickett, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, Paul Lowe, Sebastián Bruno, Clementine Schneidermann, Tish Murtha, Lúa Ribera, Sue Packer, Jack Latham, Tom Jenkins, Linda Whittam, Guy Martin and more. Graduates from the school – which now covers BA, MA and PhD level – work across the globe for top news agencies, galleries, newspapers, magazines, and other leading institutions.
