The 80s: Documenting Britain
Group Show
The 80s: Documenting Britain
Group Show
Exhibitions
Tate Britain, London
Explore one of the UK’s most critical decades through the lens of radical photography. This exhibition traces the work of photographers, collectives, and publications that captured the turbulent Thatcher years - responding to race uprisings, the miner strikes, Section 28, the AIDS pandemic, and rapid gentrification. Through powerful imagery, experience stories of protest, resilience, and social change.
Photography in the 1980s was a tool for activism, amplifying voices often unheard. The exhibition highlights work documenting the Black arts movement, queer experience, South Asian diaspora, and the evolving role of women in photography. It also examines the impact of photography collectives and project spaces such as Half Moon Photography Workshop, and Amber.
"These photographers recorded different social pressures: inadequate housing, disproportionate unemployment, aggressive policing and stereotypical framing in the media. They also highlighted the joy, pride and humour within these communities. By working with their subjects and photographing their own experiences, they produced works that provide insight, build connections and encourage empathy."
We are especially excited that seminal works from female photographers have been loaned for this exhibition from the AmberSide Collection - including featuring Tish Murtha’s Youth Unemployment and Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen’s Interiors.
