{{Other people|Pete James|Peter James (disambiguation){{!}}Peter James}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{infobox person/Wikidata | fetchwikidata=ALL | dateformat = dmy | honorific_suffix = ASICI, FRPS }}
'''Peter James''' FRPS (1958–2018) was a British archivist and curator of photography, at Birmingham Central Library. He curated photographic exhibitions internationally and served as chair of the Committee of National Photography Collections, as well as receiving the Royal Photographic Society's Colin Ford Award.
==Life and work== James' interest in photography was kindled when he worked for Kodak in Harrow in the 1970s, and visited their Kodak Museum during his lunch breaks.<ref name="Smyth">{{cite web|last1=Smyth|first1=Diane|title=Obituary: Pete James, Curator of Photography Collections at the Library of Birmingham, 1958-2018 – British Journal of Photography|url=http://www.bjp-online.com/2018/03/petejamesobit/|website=British Journal of Photography|accessdate=15 March 2018}}</ref>
After obtaining a BA in Humanities, Ceramics and Art History from the Polytechnic of Wales in 1987, James arrived in Birmingham in 1986 to study the History of Photography, and Art & Design at Birmingham Polytechnic for his MA, which he received in 1989.<ref name="Smyth" /><ref name="Grimley">{{cite web|last1=Grimley|first1=Terry|title=Former Library of Birmingham photography chief dies aged 60|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/former-library-birmingham-photography-chief-14409177|website=Birmingham Live|accessdate=15 March 2018|date=14 March 2018}}</ref>
He was Curator of Photography Collections – a post created for him<ref name="Grimley" /> – at Birmingham Central Library and at its replacement, the Library of Birmingham, from January 1989 to October 2015.<ref name="Smyth" /> His work there resulted in the library's photography collection becoming one of the United Kingdom's National Collections of Photography.<ref name="Smyth" />
In 2015, Birmingham City Council made drastic cuts to the Library of Birmingham's funding, and in October that year, James and the entire photography department team were made redundant.<ref name="Smyth" />
James curated photographic exhibitions in Birmingham, at the Libraries where he worked, at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and at Ikon Gallery; in London, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and at Somerset House;<ref name="Smyth" /> and overseas, at the Royal Palace of Milan and Museum Africa, Johannesburg.<ref name="PrixPictet">{{cite web|title=Pete James|url=http://jp.prixpictet.com/nominators/james-pete/|website=Prix Pictet|accessdate=15 March 2018|language=en}}</ref> He also served as chair of the Committee of National Photography Collections.<ref name="Smyth" />
He was an Accredited Senior in Imaging in the Creative Industries (ASICI)<ref name="BPH">{{cite web|title=Peter James MA ASICI FRPS (1958-2018)|url=http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/peter-james-ma-asis-frps-1958-2018|website=British Photo History|accessdate=15 March 2018|language=en}}</ref> and a double Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society (FRPS),<ref name="BPH" /> and received the Royal Photographic Society's Colin Ford Award, given in recognition of a major contribution to photographic history, in 2009.<ref name="Grimley" /><ref name=ColinFord>{{cite web |url= http://www.rps.org/about/awards/history-and-recipients/archive/colin-ford-award |accessdate= 6 March 2017 |publisher= RPS |title= Colin Ford Award |archive-date= 7 March 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170307045304/http://www.rps.org/about/awards/history-and-recipients/archive/colin-ford-award |url-status= dead }}</ref>
He was a co-founder of the independent arts organisation GRAIN,<ref name="Smyth" /> which aims to support and develop artists working in photography.<ref name="GRAIN">{{cite web|title=About Grain|url=http://grainphotographyhub.co.uk/about-grain/|website=GRAIN Photography Hub|accessdate=15 March 2018}}</ref>
James died on 11 March 2018,<ref name="Smyth" /> aged 60, after suffering from a liver condition.<ref name="Grimley" /> He was survived by his wife and two children.<ref name="Smyth" />
For some years, he had been researching George Shaw, the first photographer to operate in Birmingham.<ref name="UoB-GS">{{cite web |title=George Shaw: Birmingham's First Photographer |url=https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/events/2010/03/GeorgeShaw.aspx |publisher=University of Birmingham |accessdate=11 March 2019}}</ref> His paper on Shaw was published posthumously, in the Royal Photographic Society journal ''Photo-Historian''.<ref name="PhotoHistorian">{{cite journal |last1=James |first1=Pete |title=George Shaw : Birmingham's first photographer |journal=The PhotoHistorian |date=Autumn 2018 |issue=181 |pages=33–36 |issn=0956-1455 }}</ref>
== Legacy ==
A regular '''Peter James Lecture''', inaugurated in 2018, commemorates James and his work.<ref name="Redeye-2018">{{cite web |title=Pete James Lecture |url=https://www.redeye.org.uk/programme/events/pete-james-lecture |website=Redeye |access-date=27 June 2024 |date=24 September 2018}}</ref><ref name="Redeye-2023">{{cite web |title=Peter James Lecture - Curating Collections of Conflict Photography By Royal Photographic Society |url=https://www.redeye.org.uk/events/peter-james-lecture-curating-collections-conflict-photography-royal-photographic-society |website=Redeye |access-date=27 June 2024 |date=11 April 2023}}</ref>
His research papers are held at Birmingham City University.<ref name="Redeye-2023" /><ref>{{cite web |title=The Library of Birmingham hosts a world class photo collection. Unfortunately, most of it is sitting in boxes |url=https://substack.com/home/post/p-145871949 |website=Birmingham Dispatch |access-date=27 June 2024 }}</ref>
== Publications ==
* {{cite book |last1=James |first1=Pete |author-mask=0 |title=Coming to Light - Birmingham's Photographic Collections |date=1998 |publisher=Birmingham Libraries and Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery |oclc=43202389 |isbn=978-0709302285 }} * {{cite book |last1=James |first1=Pete |author-mask1=with |last2=Upton |first2=Chris |title=A World City – Birmingham |year=2003 |location=Birmingham |publisher=Birmingham City Council Department of Leisure |isbn=0709302436 }}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.photographyresearchcentre.co.uk/who-we-are/members/pete-james Profile] at the Photography and the Archive Research Centre * [https://genesisimaging.co.uk/interview-pete-james-curator-photography-collections-library-birmingham/ Interview with James], 2013 * [https://theironroom.wordpress.com/2019/03/11/pete-james-birminghams-mr-photography/ Memorial blog post by the Library of Birmingham Archives team], 2019
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{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Pete}} Category:1958 births Category:2018 deaths Category:British curators Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:British archivists Category:Photography curators Category:Fellows of the Royal Photographic Society