Photographic Exhibition - ‘WOMEN IN PERFORMANCE AT BRECON JAZZ FESTIVAL 1984-2025’ at Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon.
Dates: Wednesday, August 05, 2026 - Tuesday, September 22, 2026
More details
We have received the following press release;
WOMEN IN PERFORMANCE AT BRECON JAZZ FESTIVAL 1984-2025
Viewed through the lens of many dedicated photographers, jazz supporters and professionals, with over five decades of performance captured to date, this exhibition
celebrates music-making by women at Brecon Jazz Festival (BJF). Behind the images, whether on stage or on camera, lie countless hours of preparation, innovation and
commitment to their craft.
While recent decades have seen a truly visible increase in the presence of women as Festival headliners, and included in line-ups, Brecon Jazz always had diversity as a
touchstone, and ‘Jazz history’ itself (sometimes re-discovered) has included many outstanding individual female artists. The photographic legacy of ‘Brecon Jazz Festival’, these representations of collective moments and unforgettable performances, is produced by special people.
In this exhibition, we illustrate images produced by many BJF photographers, but note in particular the work of Brecon’s Gena Davies. Gena photographed every Brecon Jazz from its very first edition in 1984, up until 2024.
The exhibition also highlights an enduring jazz connection, between Wales and Holland. This began in the 1970s with visits to Breda by local jazz supporters, whose leading Festival brought musical links to Brecon, including the annual arrival in August of the ‘de Krukke’ marching band from the Netherlands. Thus also included are some remarkable portraits from Festival stages in Holland, taking during the 1950s-1960s of iconic jazz artists, by Dutch photographer Guusje de Zoete, who is now living in Wales.
This historic ‘Welsh-Dutch’ festival legacy and wider cultural links, the contribution of women to Festivals, representation of jazz in performance, are themes that Brecon Jazz Charity (CIO), in collaboration with partners, continues to explore and celebrate in public events and through archive collections.
From;
https://www.brycheiniog.co.uk/en/gallery/current-exhibition
WEDNESDAY 5TH AUGUST - 22ND SEPTEMBER 2026
Open daily 9.00 – 17.00*
This year’s Festival exhibition features a ‘roll call’ of women musicians who have performed at Brecon Jazz Festival. Now in its 43rd year, superb photography from across the decades and by a wide range of photographers is represented. This includes iconic portraits by Brecon’s own photography star, the late Gena Davies who was there from the very beginning of Brecon Jazz Festival in 1984 and had an extraordinary talent for capturing live performance. Also highlighted is the jazz connection between Wales and Holland, and the early work in the 1950s and 1960s of Dutch photographer Guusje de Zoete. Her lens captures legendary artists on festival stages in the Netherlands. It is a delight to present a selection of Guusje’s photographs in this exhibition and for the first time in Wales, where she now lives.
Curated and supported by Brecon Jazz CIO (Charity) in collaboration with BJF2026 Festival Team, Brecon Jazz Club, Jazz Heritage Wales & Theatr Brycheiniog.
*Please note that 10 – 14 August, the Gallery will not be accessible until 13.00 each day.
Please contact Theatr Brycheiniog Box Office to check opening times in detail as this space is occasionally used for ticketed activities and private hire.
Theatr Brycheiniog
Canal Wharf
Brecon
Powys
LD3 7EW
Box Office | Swyddfa docynnau
01874 611622
10am-3pm
Administration | Gweinyddiaeth
01874 622838