The Museum of Youth Culture has kicked off opening week after hosting a preview inside its new Camden home ahead of its official launch this Saturday.
After cutting the bright orange ribbon, the doors to their St Pancras Campus space opened for its first public viewing, showcasing the bold and distinct nature of youth culture through photographs, fashion, music, objects, ephemera and personal stories.
But what is now displayed and celebrated in a permanent institution humbly began as one man’s – founder Jon Swinstead’s – personal collection in 1997.
Operating out of his garden shed, Swinstead began gathering photos of youths experiencing and expressing their different cultures, until he was joined by co-founder Jamie Brett in 2012 and, together, they have transformed the passion project into an authentic archive for public viewing.
Brett said: “Jon, our founder, always saw that photography which looked at youth culture movements had some interest beyond just being editorial.
“It’s a completely overlooked part of heritage – young people have been left out the picture when it comes to museums.”
The museum is shaped by community-driven curation, sourcing materials from the public through the likes of donations, collaborations and campaigns such as the museum’s ‘Grown Up in Britain’ initiative.
‘Grown up in Britain’ aims to build a collective memory of youth culture, inviting the public to submit personal photographs, belongings and memories from their youth.
Lisa der Weduwe, public programming manager at the museum, said: “The thing that underpins everything we do is community.
“We spend a lot of time travelling across the UK to collect those personal stories and telling people that we think this is really important.”
Having accumulated more than 150,000 items, the main exhibition celebrates over 100 years of youth culture, with photographs, flyers, and objects covering subcultures from punk and goth to sound system and rave.
Accompanying the collection is an impressive sound system, handcrafted by artist and collaborator Linett Kamala, which forms a central part of the visitor experience by bringing subculture to life through audio.
“Music is that thing that gives us the moments of storytelling – it’s sort of the soundtrack to our life,” said Kamala.
“It was very important that the piece felt timeless.”
Kamala’s installation embodies the museum’s belief that youth culture is complex and multisensory — not just something to look at, but something to feel.
On the other side of the museum, members have worked with today’s generation of youths to create an authentic display that contributes to an ongoing idea of youth culture.
The 6-month long project worked with people between the ages of 16 and 23, asking them to create an exhibition that speaks to them as young people today.
Their final product, entitled ‘Things I Lied to My Parents About’, showcases a wall of written confessions, highlighting the reality of being a teenager while also drawing on intergenerational elements.
It bridges groups through shared experiences and similarities across upbringings, emphasising the idea that we are all young at some point in our lives.
Der Weduwe said: “It’s important that we’re not just looking to the past.
“It wouldn’t be a museum of youth culture if we weren’t celebrating young people, bringing them into the space and collaborating with them.”
The Museum of Youth Culture opens to the public on Saturday 20 June 2026.
For tickets and further information, visit museumofyouthculture.com
Featured image credit: Tamsyn Hill
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