A major photography exhibition marking the culmination of the national Our Freedom: Then and Now programme, marking 80 years since the end of the Second World War, will open at the Southbank Centre on Wednesday 25 March 2026.
The exhibition brings together images from 60 locally led projects spanning towns, cities and rural communities across the UK, offering a nationwide portrait of people, place and belonging, and is set to arrive at London’s Southbank Centre this spring.
Developed by Future Arts Centres and Open Eye Gallery, the exhibition invited communities of all ages and backgrounds to reflect on their own histories, experiences and identities, considering what freedom meant in their place in 1945 and how those ideas resonate today.
Mark Ball, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, said:
“The 1951 Festival of Britain was the moment the UK transformed from post-war grey into full and glorious technicolour, establishing the Royal Festival Hall as a beacon of optimism. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the first chapter of our story, it feels right to see the work of 60 arts centres, libraries and their communities filling our site to share what freedom looks and feels like in 2026.
Working with Future Arts Centres and Open Eye Gallery, this exhibition shows that the forward-looking energy of 1951 still pulses through our neighbourhoods today. It’s a joy to open our doors to these national voices before they head back out to tour the UK.”
A nationwide collaboration
Across the UK, the project has taken many different forms – from a large-scale photographic mosaic created from public submissions in Lincolnshire, to a graphic novel exploring wartime history through a coming-of-age story in Barrow-in-Furness, as well as community street parties combining music, food and performance in Colchester, among many other locally led activities.
To document these projects, 22 photographers were commissioned through the Socially Engaged Photography Network to work closely with each community. The resulting exhibition offers a rich visual record of participation and collaboration, featuring contributors ranging from schoolchildren to veterans, and participants aged from 0 to 100.
The exhibition creates a space to reflect on shared histories and collective memory, while foregrounding the role of community in shaping the freedoms experienced across the UK today.
Following its London premiere at the Southbank Centre, the exhibition will tour to 17 arts centres and libraries across the UK from March to October 2026, ensuring these stories continue to be shared nationwide.
Annabel Turpin and Gavin Barlow, Programme Co‑Directors of Our Freedom: Then and Now, 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 opens at the nation’s largest arts centre, Southbank, 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.
More information about the exhibition and the full list of participating photographers is available here.