Led by our in-house youth worker, the project’s youth programme was been designed to inspire and encourage self-expression and build confidence. Many of the participants joined feeling disconnected or misrepresented - reflecting the broader ways youth voices are often excluded from mainstream heritage work. By engaging with the Museum’s archive, they encountered decades of teenage experience, helping them recognise that the challenges they face are not new, and that their stories are part of a larger, ongoing narrative. Alongside exploring contemporary identity, we challenged young people to suggest objects that reflect the teenage experience today, which was purchased for the collections as part of the wider programme.
 
We ran two extended youth programmes as part of the project, working with visual artists Jaffar Aly and Anita Safowaa to create creative responses to the museum’s archive and the youth experience today. These projects culminated in a special Open Archive showcase, exhibiting the participants’ photography and responses to the archive. For many, this was a first opportunity to present their work in a professional context. It was also a moment of recognition—of being taken seriously, and of contributing meaningfully to a wider cultural conversation about what their heritage should look like.One participant noted: “The discussions felt very open, and it felt like a safe space to talk about the experiences that connected us as young people.” Another reflected: “I am so very grateful that we had the opportunity to showcase our photography—it was a very wholesome experience all throughout.”

Youth Workshops

4th May: Croydon Young Archivists
23rd May: Ladywell Zine Workshop
23rd- 25th July: Glasgow Impact Arts (4 workshops)
22nd September: Youth Engagement Form, Liverpool Museums
3rd October: Bloomsbury Traineeship Group
29th October: Future Exhibition Makers Southbank
13th November: Roundhouse Workshop
3rd - 21st December: Photofusion workshop programme (Jaffar Aly)
February 2025: Roundhouse workshop programme (Anita Safowaa)