Peter James FRPS (1958–2018) was a British archivist and curator of photography, at Birmingham Central Library.

[1] 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.

[1] 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;[1] and overseas, at the Royal Palace of Milan and Museum Africa, Johannesburg.

[2][5] He was a co-founder of the independent arts organisation GRAIN,[1] which aims to support and develop artists working in photography.

[7] His paper on Shaw was published posthumously, in the Royal Photographic Society journal Photo-Historian.