British Culture Archive

04/09/2026

A Friday night in Birkenhead, 1997.

Photos by Nick Wynne.

From Wynne’s work documenting Liverpool and Merseyside 1980s-1990s.

Explore more of Wynne’s work online at BCA.

Photographs © Nick Wynne / BCA. All rights reserved.

31/08/2026

60 years of Notting Hill Carnival.

Born from London’s Caribbean communities and shaped by the racial tensions and inequalities of post-war Britain, Notting Hill Carnival has grown into Europe’s largest street festival and one of the defining events in Britain’s cultural calendar.

Photographer Jamal Shreim captured the Carnival during its 50th anniversary year in 2016.

Gallery online at BCA: https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/notting-hill-carnival-2016-photographs-by-jamal-shreim/

Photographs © Jamal Shreim / BCA. All rights reserved.

31/08/2026

Notting Hill Carnival celebrates 60 years this Bank Holiday weekend.

Tony Davis photographed Norman Jay during his Good Times Sound System set at Carnival in 1992, wearing the iconic anti-Nazi T-shirt designed by Judy Blame.

Following the sell out of the original 10 × 12 inch limited edition print, the photograph returns in a larger 11 × 14 inch format, released exclusively through BCA as a hand-numbered edition of 50.

Available now: https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/product/norman-jay-notting-hill-carnival-1992-limited-edition-print/

Photograph © / BCA. All rights reserved.

28/08/2026

Taken between 2024 and 2025 these photographs form part of Mining: The Not So Distant Past, a photo series by Sam Batley.

The work follows marches and gatherings in Barnsley, Sheffield, Goldthorpe and Wakefield, and at the Durham Miners’ Gala, as communities marked 40 years since the 1984–85 miners’ strike.

“The values of community, solidarity and a belief in something bigger than the self that united people then are still uniting people today. They are a reminder that community is woven into the fabric of the coalfields.

“These coalfields are where I was born. My dad worked at the pit, and my generation has seen first-hand the collapse of industry and identity. These men and women are giants, carrying our collective heritage with them and reminding us of what was, and what could be.” — Sam Batley

Read our feature with Sam Batley online at BCA: https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/sam-batley-running-towards-myself/

Photographs © Sam Batley. All rights reserved.

10/08/2026

Manchester, 1979.

Photographs by Luis Bustamante.

These photographs trace a route through Manchester’s Oxford Road, university district and Hulme, documenting railway infrastructure, pubs, deck-access housing, a café and fly-posters covering the city’s walls.

One includes John Cooper Clarke at the Free Trade Hall on 25th June 1979, supported by Fashion and Joy Division. Another promotes Manchester reggae group Exodus at the Russell Club in Hulme.

Bustamante made the series as part of the British archive he began after arriving in Hull as a political refugee from Chile in December 1974.

Works from the series were included in the British Culture Archive section of Use Hearing Protection: The Early Years of Factory Records at the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester, in 2021.

View the gallery online at BCA: https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/luis-bustamante-manchester-1979/

Photographs © Luis Bustamante / British Culture Archive. All rights reserved.

01/08/2026

Hull Fair, 1975.

Photos by Sean Plunkett.

Sean Plunkett (1948–2023) began taking photographs in the early 1970s while studying at Ealing Art College.

These photographs forms part of Plunkett’s black and white archive of his home city, much of which remained unpublished for decades before he began rediscovering and scanning the negatives later in life.

Photographs © Sean Plunkett / BCA. All rights reserved.

A selection of edition prints from the series is available from BCA.

23/07/2026

Between 1982 and 1984, Matthew Rich printed and fly-posted music campaigns across Manchester. The photographs made to prove the work had been completed document Manchester’s 1980s music scene and the city around it.

Feature: https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/matthew-rich-fly-posting-manchester-1982-1984

How Blackburn’s warehouse parties, Hardcore Uproar, Live the Dream and police crackdowns placed East Lancashire at the centre of early British rave culture.

21/07/2026

Wigan Casino, 1976.

These scans are amongst the only surviving versions from Red Saunders’ Wigan Casino photographs. The original negatives were lost when a fire destroyed Red’s studio and much of his archive.

Saunders’ photographed Wigan Casino for The Sunday Times Magazine, working alongside writer Gordon Burn. Published in February 1976 under the headline “A Hard Week’s Night”, the six-page feature documented Northern Soul while the Casino was still in full swing.

Saunders understood the all-nighter. As a young Mod, he had attended the Flamingo, the Scene Club and the Wh**ky a Go Go in Soho.

“It was a priceless assignment – a story about Northern Soul and, specifically, the Wigan Casino. It was written by one of my favourite writers on the magazine at that time, Gordon Burn. ‘Keep the Faith’ was the manifesto here, R&B lovers and multi-racial dancing all weekend.”— Red Saunders

Feature: https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/photos-of-wigan-casino-1970s-red-saunders/

17/07/2026

Remembering Brian Homer (1945–2026).

A photographer, designer and editor, Brian created an important record of Birmingham’s communities through his work in Handsworth and Saltley, alongside photographs of Rock Against Racism and anti-racist political activity during the late 1970s.

Brian was a co-founder of the influential photography journal Ten.8 and co-created Handsworth Self Portrait with Derek Bishton and John Reardon. Made in 1979, the participatory project invited local residents to control the moment at which their portraits were taken and has become an important work in the history of British photography.

His work addressed how communities are represented, who controls the photographic image and the responsibilities carried by documentary practice.

British Culture Archive has published a tribute to Brian Homer, exploring his photography and his wider contribution to independent publishing, participatory portraiture and documentary practice in Britain.

A tribute to Brian Homer, the Birmingham photographer behind Handsworth Self Portrait, Saltley, Ten.8 and Rock Against Racism.

05/07/2026

Sheffield, 1979-1983

Pete Hill photographed one of the most important periods in the city’s music history.

From Cabaret Voltaire at Western Works to The Human League, Clock DVA, Vice Versa, ABC and early Pulp, his archive documents the bands, venues and networks around a city in transition.

Sheffield’s Electronic Revolution, now online at BCA: https://britishculturearchive.co.uk/sheffield-music-city/

Photographs © Pete Hill / British Culture Archive. All rights reserved.