Ten.8

TEN.8 was a British photography magazine published quarterly in Birmingham, throughout the 1980s, folding in 1992.

History

Ten.8 (the title referring to the 10" x 8" format of the traditional black-and-white photographic print) was founded in 1979 by the Birmingham photographer collective Derek Bishton, Brian Homer and John Reardon (1951 - 2018) in order to promote the city's photographers. The collective also included Roy Peters then studying photography at Birmingham's Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, social documentary photographer Nick Hedges, Stourbridge College lecturer John Taylor, and later Paul Lewis from Wolverhampton Polytechnic and John Hodgett form Bournville College of Art.

Contributing photographers included Paul Hill, Angela Kelly, Brian Griffin, Abbas, Susan Meiselas, Vanley Burke, Nigel Dickinson, and Chris Steele-Perkins and their imagery appeared alongside writing by academics and community activists. It has been called a 'First World' commentary on culture, compared with the contemporaneous pop culture magazine The Face. Where the latter advised on 'street credibility' and 'nous' for those negotiating fashion, urban living and the music scene, Ten.8 contained knowledgeable debates on the history, theory, politics and practice of photography and offered source material for educators.

By 1984, Rhonda Wilson had joined the editorial board and had a lasting influence. She designed two issues; Another Coal Face (1984) and Evidence (1987). In 1988, when she and Roshini Kempadoo co-edited the Spectrum Women’s Photography Festival exhibition catalogue, it was published as a special supplement to issue 30.

Editor Derek Bishton established Ten.8 Touring, an exhibition touring project in 1987.

Rhonda became one of the magazine’s directors when, in 1989, Ten.8's loose co-operative was formalised as a limited company. She took up responsibility for Ten.8 Touring, benefitting from her visit during the period to Houston FotoFest in the US by emulating their the portfolio reviews. She left Ten.8 in 1991.

Ten.8 had a far-reaching impact that drew international readers.