Durre Shahwar: One of the Good Ones (Publication launch)

Join writer, researcher, and artist Durre Shahwar for the launch of her new publication, ‘One of The Good Ones’ on Thursday 23rd April, 6pm. Durre will be in conversation with artist Freya Dooley.

The publication expands and accompanies Durre’s first solo exhibition, ‘One of The Good Ones’, which was exhibited at Ffotogallery from January – February 2026 and presented a series of photographs responding to the gallery’s archive. Drawing on the artist’s own experience of seeking sanctuary, this body of work reflects on how documentation, objects, and symbolism take on different meanings under the threat of erasure and how seemingly ordinary objects become fraught when faced with loss and (dis)placement. Meanwhile, autofictional layering of text and images offer a counterarchive and capture the process of deliberating, (re)constructing an identity, and challenging how power is assigned.

Part autofiction, essay, poetic prose, reflection, this publication forms part of the exhibition and Durre’s larger body of interdisciplinary work and research.

About Durre Shahwar:

Dr Durre Shahwar is a writer, researcher, and artist with a PhD in autofiction and Pakistani-Welsh identity from Cardiff University where she is an Associate Tutor. She was the recipient of a Future Wales Fellowship, researching climate justice through art, the visual outcome of which was exhibited at Glynn Vivian Art Gallery. Her film and visual work have also been exhibited and screened widely, including Chapter Arts, Migration Matters Festival, G39, The Turner House Gallery, Green Man Festival, Arts & Heritage. Durre’s work uses decolonised creative practices to amplify marginalised narratives. She is the co-editor of Gathering: Women of Colour on Nature (404 Ink). In 2022, Durre was highly commended for the Morley Lit Prize.

About the commission:

This commission was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of Ffotogallery’s ongoing archive project. Research into the Ffotogallery archive revealed a lack of diversity, with communities such as queer and disabled people underrepresented in the collection.

To address this, Ffotogallery commissioned two artists: one who identifies as LGBTQIA+, and one who identifies as disabled, to explore the archive and create new work in response. The resulting pieces will be acquired into the collection, expanding and diversifying the archive to reflect .

Following an open call, Durre Shahwar was selected for the Disabled artist commission, and Rhys Slade-Jones selected for the LGBTQIA+ artist commission, with Cwm Here Now shown late last year.

Ticket price includes a copy of 'One of the good ones' publication.

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