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You can’t argue with 118 Brummies in their swimsuits: Attilio Fiumarella’s best photograph
Attilio Fiumarella documented a bold collaborative portrait project at Moseley Road Baths, a Grade II listed Edwardian community building threatened with closure due to lack of funding. Working with local volunteers and community groups, he assembled 118 swimmers into the empty competition pool in July 2014, requiring an hour's wait for ideal sunlight. The image captures multiple generations and the demographic diversity of the swimming community that had used the facility.
The photograph later gained significant recognition, winning the Portrait of Humanity award in 2020. Fiumarella reflects on the work as both a technical achievement—his first project using large-format film—and a statement about community resilience and togetherness. The image's recent renewed attention underscores its resonance as a representation of collective agency and shared identity within a historic public institution.
In short
- Photographer captures 118 community swimmers in an empty historic Birmingham pool facing closure in 2014
- The large-format portrait of diverse generations won the Portrait of Humanity prize in 2020 and has become a symbol of collective action
Explained simply
Attilio Fiumarella is a photographer who created a striking group portrait by gathering 118 local swimmers in the empty competition pool at Moseley Road Baths in Birmingham in July 2014. The project was collaborative, bringing together volunteers from the local community to pose together for the image, which he shot using large-format film in natural daylight.
Moseley Road Baths is a Grade II listed building from the Edwardian era that has served as an important community swimming facility, but it has faced threats of closure due to financial pressures. By documenting such a large group of swimmers from the neighbourhood—spanning multiple generations and backgrounds—the photograph captures something of the place's significance to those who used it.
The image went on to win the Portrait of Humanity award in 2020, gaining recognition as both a technical achievement and a powerful statement about community cohesion. It represents the shared identity and collective agency of the people who valued this historic public building, making it a meaningful record of a community's connection to its local institution.
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