Photography of Protest and Community

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During the 1970s, London-based photographers formed collectives to engage with political protests across the UK. This survey explores the radical community photography produced by these groups, who drew inspiration from counterculture and sought innovative ways to create, publish, and exhibit their work. They aimed to establish their own magazines and exhibition networks, bringing their politicized photographic and textual commentary on the re-imagination of British cities into community spaces like centres, laundrettes, Working Men's Clubs, polytechnics, and nurseries. Their laminated panel exhibitions were designed for durability, allowing them to circulate nationwide via British Rail's Red Star parcel network. Through archival research, interviews, and newly discovered materials, the narrative highlights the Hackney Flashers Collective, Exit Photography Group, Half Moon Photography Workshop, and the producers of Camerawork magazine, alongside community darkrooms like North Paddington Community Darkroom and Blackfriars Photography Project. This work reveals how these collectives created a 'history from below,' positioning themselves outside mainstream media to amplify the voices of the disenfranchised and marginalized, bringing them into the political discourse.