Steve McQueen: Resistance
Leeds Art Gallery
6 November 2026 – 25 April 2027
How Protest Shaped Britain and Photography Shaped Protest
Leeds Art Gallery proudly presents Steve McQueen: Resistance – How Protest Shaped Britain and Photography Shaped Protest, an exhibition conceived by renowned acclaimed artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen and curated in collaboration with Clarrie Wallis and Emma Lewis of Turner Contemporary.
This thought-provoking new exhibition explores how acts of resistance have shaped life in the UK and the powerful role photography has played in both documenting and driving change.
McQueen offers a powerful exploration of overlooked histories, bringing to light the stories of individuals and communities whose acts of resistance have helped shape modern Britain.
Presenting a century of activism, Resistance will span from the radical suffrage movement in 1903 to the largest-ever protest in Britain’s history—the Anti-Iraq War Protest in 2003.
The exhibition will bring together works by renowned photographers such as Vanley Burke, Henry Grant, Fay Godwin, Edith Tudor-Hart, Tish Murtha, Humphrey Spender, Christine Spengler, Andrew Testa, Paul Trevor and Janine Wiedel, alongside lesser-known photographers who documented these powerful stories.
Drawing on photographs from various archives collections and image libraries, Resistance deliberately focuses on moments captured before digital cameras became commonplace.
As the North of England venue on the tour, Leeds Art Gallery will present this critically acclaimed exhibition following its highly successful presentations at Turner Contemporary in Margate and National Galleries of Scotland: Modern Two in Edinburgh.
Image credit: Paul Trevor, Anti-rascists gather to block route of National Front demonstration, New Cross Road, London, August 1977. Copyright Paul Trevor.
Subject to opening hours.
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