Brixton Riots community project
Participants of this community project from Spring 2008 delved into the lives of people who experienced the Brixton Riots of April 1981, a key event in London's modern story.
After an intensive training week including historical research and social reporting workshops, Emma Acquah, Uriel Blackwood, Liam MacAtamney, Paul Wood and Shirley Simmonds, along with photographer Frewine Solomon were ready to meet and interview Brixton residents who experienced the Riots of April 1981.
The resulting interviews reveal some of the fascinating and intimate stories behind the headlines. From John Callaghan who watched the Riots from the roof of his home, then spent the following days photographing the devastation, to Siobhan Dempsey who recalls the community camaraderie she shared with customers in the pub she had to stay in, unable to leave all night.
Further insight into this project can be found in our World City gallery alongside a powerful drawing from our collection by Mike Hawthorne (born 1954) entitled 'The Brixton Riots, 1981 - 1989'.
The social reporters wrote a blog about their experience of the project.
Go to Brixton Riots project blog.
