We are delighted to present Our Freedom: Then and Now, a vibrant national photography exhibition bringing together images from 60 locally led projects, marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War.
This exhibition features work from communities across the UK — including our own project, created here in London as part of the national programme.
We explored what freedom meant in this community in 1945 and how those ideas resonate today. Our contribution now sits alongside 59 other projects to form a powerful nationwide portrait of people, place and belonging.
Developed by Future Arts Centres and Open Eye Gallery, the exhibition forms part of the wider Our Freedom: Then and Now programme. In total, 22 photographers collaborated with communities of all ages and backgrounds, inviting them to reflect on their own histories, experiences and identities.
The exhibition opened at the Southbank Centre in London and is now touring to 18 arts centres and libraries across the UK — from Exeter to Inverness, and Ipswich to Belfast — all of which were part of the programme.
Programme Co-Directors Annabel Turpin and Gavin Barlow said:
“This exhibition is the culmination of a major national project bringing together 60 communities with artists, arts centres and libraries. Twenty-two brilliant photographers have created a diverse and fascinating set of images reflecting these communities across the country, and it’s fitting that the exhibition opened at the nation’s largest arts centre before travelling the length and breadth of the UK.”
Our Freedom: Then and Now is delivered by Future Arts Centres in partnership with Libraries Connected and supported using public funding by the UK Government through Arts Council England. The exhibition is produced by Future Arts Centres, Open Eye Gallery and the Socially Engaged Photography Network.
We’re proud to see our community’s story represented within this national exhibition and to welcome audiences to experience this collective reflection on freedom — then and now.
More information about the exhibition and the full list of participating photographers is available here. The full exhibition will also be available to view online from 18 March 2026.
