Lewisham Young Advisors Workshop

We've loaned 11 photographs by John Goto from the Autograph Archive to the exhibition Made in Lewisham: Then & Now. They are from his Lovers Rock series of portraits, created in 1977 at the Lewisham Youth Centre in south London where Goto taught evening classes.

Goto's photos from 1977 are shown alongside new work by photographer Des Willie, who has recreated the Lovers Rock portraits with young people in Lewisham today. 

Ali Eisa - Autograph's Public Programme Manager for Education - met with a group of Lewisham Young Advisors at the gallery to explore the issues and challenges faced by young people in the local area. The Advisors spoke about the recent closures youth clubs, and the workshop brainstormed how to address this challenge in our communities.

Using the exhibition as a starting point, a passionate conversation was had about the experiences of youth 'then and now'. The day ended with a hands-on photography shoot, creating portraits that reimagined the images in the exhibition. 

We learned a lot, and hope to work with the Lewisham Young Advisors in the future!