Developed by Future Arts Centres and Open Eye Gallery, Our Freedom: Then and Now brings together images drawn from 60 locally-led projects. Communities of all ages and backgrounds considered what freedom meant in their place in 1945 and what it means now.
To capture these stories, 22 photographers were commissioned through Open Eye Gallery, as part of their national role in the Socially Engaged Photography Network (SEPN), to closely follow each project.
Out of the 22 photographers involved, ten are part of our very own POST collective. The project was also co-curated by POST member Liz Wewiora, as part of her role at Open Eye Gallery.
The POST members involved demonstrated and celebrated the diversity of practice and style which we bring to projects as a collective, and it was a pleasure to be involved. POST photographers included Emma Case, Carole Evans, Alicia Bruce, Anneleen Lindsay, Leticia Valverdes, Sophie Ellen, Seema Khalique, Marysa Dowling, Rosie Barnes, and Karina Lax.
The exhibition offers a powerful visual record of the people involved – from schoolchildren and veterans to artists and participants aged 0 – 100 – reflecting the diversity and creativity at the heart of the programme.
Across the UK, the project took 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.
Following its London premiere at the Southbank Centre, Our Freedom: Then and Now is now touring between 26 March and 30 October 2026 to arts centres and libraries that took part in the programme, stretching from Libraries Unlimited in the South West to Eden Court in the Highlands.
The full exhibition and more information about the project is also available to view online here: https://ourfreedom.org.uk/exhibition/
The photographers involved are also sharing the stories and process behind each commission, which you can follow via Open Eye Gallery here: https://openeye.org.uk/news/