Grown Up in Britain: 100 Years of Teenage Kicks is opening at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry this July.

The major exhibition, which shows from Friday 1 July 2022 – Sunday 12 February 2023, has been curated by the London based Museum of Youth Culture and is a celebration of teenage life from the roaring 1920s until today. Going beyond the headlines, the exhibition chronicles the lived experiences and impact of young people, their scenes, sounds and styles, through photographs, objects and personal stories - depicting teenage life in the UK over the last century.

Inside the exhibition visitors will be transported to their teenage years through a variety of immersive sections which portray home life and teenage bedrooms, first jobs and nights out, hang out spots and ‘must-have’ items.

Iconic photographs line the walls and set the scene – some by well-known artists such as the godfather of Black British photography Vanley Burke, Ken Russell, Normski, Anita Corbin, Gavin Watson and Lucy McCarthy, as well as nostalgic images submitted from family albums across the country.

Objects on display include a Royal Enfield Constellation motorcycle as pictured on the cover of the Daily Mirror Shock Issue in 1961, a 1920s flapper dress, Chopper bicycle, ZX Spectrum console, band tees, fanzines and much more.

The exhibition culminates with an immersive area where people can submit their own memories digitally via museumofyouthculture.com/submit

Grown Up in Britain is the Museum of Youth Culture’s first major exhibition outside of London on the lead up to the opening of their permanent home in Digbeth, Birmingham in 2025. As the show is taking place in Coventry, several ‘show & tell’ events took place locally to ensure the memories, objects and photographs of Coventrians were captured and reflected in the final exhibition.

The free exhibition is the first to open at the Herbert following a blockbuster programme during UK City of Culture, which included highlights such as Turner Prize 2021, 2 Tone: Lives & Legacies and Daniel Lismore; Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken.