10 August – 4 September 2026
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, Freedom from Want, created here in Barnsley as part of the national programme. Working with artist Black Lodge Press and community partners including Creative Recovery, Honeywell Good Food Pantry, Barnsley Food Bank and Barnsley & District Arts Society, 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.
Image by Leticia Valverdes with Trinity Arts Centre, Bristol
