What one word describes you?

The Public’s portrait studio is a semi-permanent fixture, usually situated on the ground floor of the building. During the summer of 2010 The Public took its portrait studio out on the road, in August to Sandwell Summer Show and in September to Artfest in Birmingham.

The Sandwell Community Show is a major event that takes place every August Bank Holiday weekend in Dartmouth Park. The show has been the borough’s flagship community event for a number of years, and in 2010 visitor numbers were in excess of 60,000. The Public’s Portraits, above, capture the people and characters at this event and are truly representational of Sandwell’s population.

In 1981 The Sunday Times Magazine published Ghetto Britain - an article focusing on life in Sandwell. Many of the photographs showed local people behind bars, painting a very bleak picture of the region. At that time, Jubilee Arts – a local community arts group - decided to encourage people to make their own images, creating a photographic exhibition from their own point of view.

Encouraging people to express themselves through photography, video and other art forms was central to Jubilee’s mission and in the days before digital cameras and the internet this was highly innovative. Jubilee’s work ultimately led to the creation of The Public, an art centre imaginatively set at the heart of the regeneration of West Bromwich.

In 2009 The Public exhibited the Jubilee Arts portraits alongside contemporary portraits of Sandwell residents, made in The Public’s own self-portrait studio. The Public’s portrait studio is a semi-permanent fixture on the ground floor of the free-to-access arts centre where visitors to the building can take their own portraits. Over 5,000 portraits have so far been collected.

Why not visit the portrait studio on the ground floor of The Public to have your own image taken.