The Chrisi Bailey Award

A brief background

Chrisi studied at Dartington College of Art for 3 years which included an exchange period of study in Seattle in the U.S.A., her studies including photography. She then studied for a further year to obtain a teaching qualification.

On completing her teaching studies, her work having been seen by Warwickshire Education Department, she was approached by them and offered a post to teach at a primary school.

Chrisi was completing her fourth year in Warwickshire in 1984 and had introduced photography into her teaching from the start (the children were using pinhole cameras and making sun pictures, they were also using her camera to make photographic records of fieldtrips - countryside studies, visits to local building projects etc. following the progress of the work). At the same time she was running workshops in Leamington Spa introducing womens groups to photography. She had recognised the benefits of using photography as an education tool across the curriculum and was experimenting and pioneering its use her work.

Early in 1984 the Dean of Education at King Alfred College, Winchester had similar but quite independent ideas and obtained funding, partially from the Ilford Photographic Company to appoint a Research Fellow at the college to explore and develop photography within the primary school curriculum. Chrisi applied for the Fellowship and was appointed on secondment from Warwickshire.

Chrisi very quickly became involved with many other educationalists nationally because of her work and research. By 1986 she had achieved significant recognition for her work on the project both in the U.K. and Overseas. She had been invited and joined numerous committees and study groups and was speaking at national conferences. Her project was also the subject of an episode of the BBC Education programme Zig-Zag. She contibuted a series of articles to the scholastic publication 'Art & Craft'.

In July 1986 she had been invited to speak at the 1987 Australian Teachers Media National Conference in Tasmania to be followed by a speaking tour of Australia, but sadly she was never to go. She was taken ill with cancer in mid-July 1986 and died in August 1986 at the age of 32 cutting very short what was becoming a most promising career.

Stephen Hewett, Director of the Ilford Project and Dean of Education at King Alfred College said of Chrisi "For one so young she had a remarkable facility for bringing together people of all ages or positions in purposeful discussion. Any difference seemed quickly to disappear under her beguiling influence. Her expertise was in the process of increasing, her insight was sharpening, her analyses were becoming more refined; she was on the way to becoming an important figure in curriculum development".

Family and friends contributed to a fund after Chrisi's death, the aim being to do something positive in her memory. In the spring of 1987 the Bailey family were invited a reception at the Commonwealth Photography Award Exhibition and the launch of the book 'Pictures Of Everyday Life' which was a selection of photographs submitted for the Commonwealth Award.

The authors of the book, Noelle Goldman and Professor Stuart Hall, had dedicated the book to the memory of Chrisi, saying "Chrisi embodied the universal aim of all teachers to bring people, especially children, to a greater depth of understanding to this world; her way was photography".

During the evening a conversation with Sean Cubit, a former professional colleague of Chrisi's, led to a proposal to form a committee and institute an annual award in her memory. With his help others were approached who readily agreed to give their time and expertise to make it succeed.

The first award was made in 1988 with help and financial support from The British Film Institute, The Arts Council, Ilford and the family fund. Since 1990 the award has been funded and administered by The Arts Council of England.