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Schools' workshop for London Primary and Secondary schools
Autograph's unique collection of photography charts the contributions of diverse cultures in Britain over two centuries. We'll use these images as the starting point for students to curate their own pop-up exhibition – and explore how histories are collected, shared and created through photography.
These workshops are suitable for KS2 and KS3
This is a two-part workshop. The first workshop will take place at your school, the second at Autograph's gallery in East London
Art & Design, Photography and Media Studies
Autograph's unique collection of photography charts the contributions of diverse cultures in Britain over two centuries. We'll use these images as the starting point for this two-part workshop, inviting your students to explore how histories are collected, shared and created through photography.
Taking place at your school, the first workshop will be centred around transforming the classroom into a pop-up exhibition using portraits from Autograph’s Exhibition in a Box and Archive Learning Resource. Students will write and discuss their intuitive responses to the portraits, listening to and interpreting the images. Students will work together to find thematic, historical and conceptual links between the portraits and will take ownership in curating their own mini-exhibition. Their discussions will be the basis of justifying their creative decision-making in curating the portraits.
After the introductory session, Autograph will leave the display up in the classroom, inviting you to engage with the photographs independently with your students through a series of prompts.
The second workshop will take place at Autograph 5 weeks later. Moving beyond discussing and analysing photographs, this session invites students to think about their own identities through a series of practical activities. They will explore self-representation through self-portraiture, still life and writing. Students will consider the choices they make when asked to self-represent and self-express through these three forms. Students will work collaboratively, using the portraits from Workshop 1 as a jumping board, to think about how their self-representations could be articulated as part a wider expression of their local community and its history.
John Xiniwe and Albert Jonas, The African Choir, 1891
Maharaja Dhuleep Singh. London, circa 1864
Eileen Perrier, from the series Afro Hair and Beauty Show, 1998-2003
Sargano Alicamousa. Aboyne, Scotland, 1980s
Bandele 'Tex' Ajetunmobi, from the series East End Portraits, 1950-1980
Joy Gregory, from the series Autoportrait, 1989-90
Yinka Shonibare, from the series Effnik, 1997
Dave Lewis, Reg Willis-Eversley, London, 1994
Unidentified Sitter, Redruth, Cornwall, C. 1867
James Barnor, Drum cover girl Erlin Ibreck, London, 1966
Develop skills interpreting and making critical sense of photographs. We asked teachers who completed this workshop, and 89% agreed their students developed these skills.
Students develop confidence and curiosity with working with visual materials. 89% of teachers strongly agreed that the workshop supported this in their students.
We want students to feel represented through the workshop materials provided. 100% of teachers who did this workshop with their class agreed that their students felt represented.
78% of teachers said that the images brought into the classroom for this workshop helped to facilitate conversations around identity, diverse histories and photography.
Esme Allman will lead the workshops in your classroom and at Autograph. Esme is a poet, theatremaker and facilitator from South London.
Her work explores history, the archive, imagined worlds, and desire within black femininity. Esme has been an artist on several Creative Curriculum projects as part of the Barbican Centre, the Unicorn Theatre and the Primary Shakespeare Company. Each project has explored how theatre, poetry and performance are embedded in the curriculum at Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 levels and how creativity enriches the learning experience for pupils.
She is a theatre director and her upcoming production Statues by Azan Ahmed, will run at the Bush Theatre in Autumn 2024. She directed To The People by John Dinneen and Alex Urwin (April 2022) and was the assistant director on Cinderella (Brixton House, 2023), Alice in Wonderland (RADA Vanburgh Theatre, 2023) and Run It Back (Hackney Showroom 2018).
She has facilitated creative workshops with the Arvon Foundation, Sydenham Arts, Kings Theatre, Fevered Sleep and the Robert Bosch Foundation in Berlin. Esme's work has been commissioned by the Barbican Centre, Roundhouse, English Heritage, the ICA, BBC Radio 3, and BBC Radio 6.
Cassia Clarke will be facilitating the workshops in your classroom and at Autograph. Cassia is an independent community archivist and artist educator.
Her work focuses on acquiring, critiquing, reconstructing, and sharing knowledge, with an emphasis on compassionate conservation and person-centred facilitation. Cassia prioritises learning as a form of freedom and enjoyment. Her book, Preserving the Familial Archive, was published in 2025.
Want to request a Identity, Photography and Archives: Create a Pop-up Exhibition workshop for your class?
Have a look at the date options below, and then fill in our short workshop booking form. After we receive your form, a member of Autograph's team will be in touch to confirm your booking. We're here to help if you have any questions, get in touch at learning@autograph-abp.co.uk
WORKSHOP BOOKING FORM
The second workshop takes place at Autograph's gallery in the heart of Shoreditch, East London. Have a look at our Visit Us page to find out more about getting to the gallery, accessibility and more.
Autograph
Rivington Place, London EC2A 3BA
Autograph welcomes people with all types of disabilities. Our building is step-free.
Before or after your visit, your class can see our exhibition I Still Dream of Lost Vocabularies.
Banner image: School workshop at Autograph, London. Photograph by Jannell Adufo.
Images on page: 1+2) School workshop at Autograph, London. Photograph by Jannell Adufo. 3) John Xiniwe and Albert Jonas, London Stereoscopic Company studios, 1891. Courtesy of © Hulton Archive/Getty Images. 4) Maharaja Duleep Singh. London, circa 1864. Photographer: John Mayall. Courtesy of Autograph. Supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. 5) Bandele ‘Tex’ Ajetunmobi, from the series East End Portraits, 1950-1980. Courtesy Autograph, London. 6) Dave Lewis, Reg Willis-Eversley, London, 1994. From the series West Indian Ex-Servicemen. Commissioned by Autograph, London. 7) Eileen Perrier, from the series Afro Hair and Beauty Show, 1998-2003. Courtesy the artist and Autograph, London. 8) Joy Gregory, from the series Autoportrait, 1989-90. Commissioned by Autograph. 9) Unidentified Sitter. Redruth, Cornwall, C. 1867. Photographer: J. Moody. Courtesy of Autograph. Supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. 10) Sargano Alicamousa. Aboyne, Scotland 1890s. Photographer: R. Milne. Courtesy of Autograph. Supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. 11) Yinka Shonibare, from the series Effnik, 1997. © Yinka Shonibare CBE. All rights reserved, DACS 2025. Image credit: Autograph. 12) James Barnor, Drum cover girl Erlin Ibreck, London, 1966. © the artist. Courtesy Autograph, London.
1) Courtesy Esme Allman. 2) Courtesy of Cassia Clarke. 3) Autograph. Photograph by Kate Elliott.
Autograph is a place to see things differently. Since 1988, we have championed photography that explores issues of race, identity, representation, human rights and social justice, sharing how photographs reflect lived experiences and shape our understanding of ourselves and others.
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