Jim Grover is a social-documentary photographer based in Clapham, South London. His particular passion is using images to tell stories…especially to celebrate daily life, people, local communities and traditions…and to make the unseen seen.
Jim's images have appeared in numerous publications and online including The Times; The Sunday Times; The Observer; the BBC (TV, on-line, radio); The Guardian; The Guardian Magazine; The Daily Telegraph; Time Out; The British Journal of Photography; Black + White Photography; Leica Forum; Amateur Photographer, and many others.
His images have been recognized in various competitions including The Sony World Photography Awards, and the Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards. In 2015 he won the ‘Faith Through a Lens’ competition; the judging panel was chaired by the internationally renowned photographer Sir Don McCullin CBE.
His photo-stories have been exhibited in 12 major solo exhibitions since 2016 and all have received extensive media coverage. In May 2018 his solo exhibition in the Oxo Gallery on London’s South Bank, ‘Windrush: Portrait of a Generation’, received extensive national media coverage (‘One of 2018’s must see shows…’) and attracted 13,000 visitors. The exhibition has been re-exhibited four times and enjoyed by well over 20,000 visitors. This followed his 2016 solo exhibition, also exhibited in the Oxo Gallery and at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival, and his 2017 solo exhibition, ‘48 Hours On Clapham High Street’.
In May 2019 Jim exhibited, ‘Here Am I’, in the Oxo Gallery. 8 months in the making, it was commissioned to celebrate the 25th anniversary, in 2019, of the ordination of women in the Church of England. It attracted 7,800 visitors over its 12 day run, and national media coverage including by the BBC, The Guardian, and The Times. Jim’s 2020 exhibition, ‘Covid Tales from Tom’s Bench’, here, was featured in The Guardian (including the double-page ‘Eyewitness’ feature in the newspaper).
In 2022, Jim exhibited ‘Behind the Shop Facade: The Life of Maurice Dorfman’ The exhibition, and accompanying book, told the story of the life of Maurice Dorfman, the grandson of Jewish emigres, who spent 60 years serving the local community from his haberdashery shop, Jeannette Fashions, on Clapham High Street, until his death in 2020 aged 87. Click here to go directly to the dedicated website. The story was featured by the BBC and The Guardian, amongst many others.
Jim teaches at Leica Akademie UK and is a member of the V&A Museum’s Photographs Acquisition Group. In 2016 he was a member of the judging panel at the MIA Photo Fair in Milan.
To commission Jim please use the Contact form to get in touch.
2024 and 2023 work
The Crafthole Summer Show (Summer 2024). This story of a traditional village Flower and Vegetable show was featured by the BBC. The story is told in two ways: with portraits of the characters, and images that bring the day to life.
Behind the Blue Doors (Spring 2024). Jim’s latest photo-essay and exhibition celebrated the 200th anniversary of this almshouse in the heart of Brixton. The exhibition ran for 10 weeks in the exhibition gallery in the new Lambeth Archives in Brixton. It was accompanied by a book. Details here
A Voyage through the Generations (2023). This major new photo-story was created to honour the 75th anniversary of the arrival in Britain in 1948 of HMT Empire Windrush. It was exhibited for 5 months, June - October 2023, and was accompanied by a book and dedicated website. Click here to find out more. The exhibition received extensive media coverage. The exhibition was restaged in Bristol Cathedral, September 22nd - October 25th.
Treasures Revealed: An Exhibition (2023). September 16th to October 15th 2023. This exhibition told the remarkable story of St. James’ Church, Clapham from 1829-1958. It included the first exhibition of the lifetime’s work of the church architect Nugent Cachemaille-Day FRIBA. It was accompanied by a book; use the contact form to get in touch. Click here for the press release.