Exhibitions
Four Corners’ exhibitions explore socially engaged photography and film, tracing connections between the past and the present.
Our exhibitions are open to everyone. Exhibitions are always free and often accompanied by a lively public programme of talks and events.
Alongside our own programme, we collaborate on projects that explore socially-conscious themes, and have a soft spot for experiments in analogue. Read our curatorial statement here.
The Gallery is also available to hire.
WHAT’S ON
ExhibitionTalkProject
Wed 1 January 2025 – Wed 31 December 2025
It's Four Corners 50th anniversary!
From a film-makers cooperative in a squatted grocer's shop, to a dynamic centre for photography and film, celebrate with us this year.
ExhibitionTalkFilm screening
Fri 13 June 2025 – Sat 19 July 2025
Work in the Margins: A Film Workshop in East London, 1975-86
In celebration of Four Corners' 50th anniversary in 2025, this exhibition investigates the early life of 113 Roman Road: a space for experiments in communal living, collective working, and collaborative filmmaking and part of a flourishing local counterculture.
PAST EXHIBITIONS
Daniel Meadows: Shuttles, Steam and Soot - A Cotton Mill in Lancashire
Fri 28 February 2025 – Sat 29 March 2025
Renowned documentary photographer Daniel Meadows recreates lost early work for this touring exhibition.
NOW FILMING: Art, Documentary and Resistance in 1930s East London
Fri 24 January 2025 – Sat 22 February 2025
An exhibition exploring the story of the Workers Film and Photo League, who used cameras to campaign against poverty, exploitation, and the rise of fascism.
ONE YEAR! Photographs from the Miners' strike 1984-85
Fri 20 September 2024 – Sat 19 October 2024
On tour from the Martin Parr Foundation, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the miners’ strike this exhibition looks at the vital role photographs played during the year-long struggle against pit closures.
I Am Who I Am Now: Selections from the Bengali Photo Archive
Fri 5 July 2024 – Sat 10 August 2024
A unique insight into the everyday life of the Bengali East End of London.
Photography on the Move: The Half Moon Touring Shows 1976 - 1984
Fri 24 November 2023 – Sat 27 January 2024
Discover how trailblazing photography exhibitions toured 1970s Britain with the help of a humble laminating machine.
Chile 50: Political Art, Solidarity and Resistance
Tue 12 September 2023 – Sat 23 September 2023
This exhibition explored how political art in Chile was used to sustain solidarity and resistance in the face of incarceration, torture and exile.
Conditions of Living: Home and Homelessness in London’s East End
Fri 30 June 2023 – Sat 2 September 2023
This exhibition explored photographic representations of poor housing and homelessness in East London for over 100 years.
Brick Lane 1978: The Turning Point
Fri 10 June 2022 – Thu 15 September 2022
An exhibition of photographs by Paul Trevor celebrating east London's Bengali activists of 1978.
Photographing Protest: Resistance through a Feminist Lens
Fri 18 March 2022 – Sat 7 May 2022
This exhibition revealed striking protest images by feminist photographers across generations, from 1968 to the present day.
PHOTO OXFORD: Images of Liberation
Fri 15 October 2021 – Thu 2 December 2021
Never before-seen images capture the fiery beginnings of the UK women’s liberation movement in an exhibition as part of Photo Oxford 2021 showcasing the work of activist photographer Sally Fraser.
My name is Sara
Fri 27 August 2021 – Sat 18 September 2021
We hosted My name is Sara, an exhibition by Sara Davidmann drawing upon themes of family, post-memory and the Holocaust.
Roman Road Stories
Tue 8 June 2021 – Sat 19 June 2021
We transformed Roman Road into a public photography exhibition, with street photography displayed in local shop windows.
Dream. Snap. Freedom: Radical Play Through Photography
Mon 16 November 2020 – Fri 18 December 2020
A digital programme curated by five Central Saint Martins' MA students, exploring expressions of passion and joy in socially-engaged photography.
Another Eye: Women Refugee Photographers in Britain after 1933
Thu 9 July 2020 – Thu 29 October 2020
Discover the remarkable women who escaped Nazi persecution and helped to transform photography in Britain.
Heartfield: One Man’s War
Thu 31 October 2019 – Sat 8 February 2020
Armed with scissors, paste and acerbic wit, John Heartfield used photomontage as a political weapon.
This exhibition revisited 33 of Heartfield’s scathingly satirical artworks alongside a fascinating collection of historic artefacts.
Salon 19: New Approaches in Photography
Thu 17 October 2019 – Sat 26 October 2019
An annual exhibition of new work by sixteen artist/photographers participating in our London Creative Network (LCN) programme.
Radical Visions: Camerawork Revisited
Fri 15 March 2019 – Sat 4 May 2019
Taking place at FORMAT19 Festival, this exhibition explored the enduring influence of Camerawork magazine.
East End Suffragettes: The Photographs of Norah Smyth
Fri 2 November 2018 – Sat 16 February 2019
This first-ever exhibition brought Norah Smyth’s original photographs back to East London, 100 years after they were taken.
Radical Visions: The Early History of Four Corners and Camerawork
Fri 15 June 2018 – Sat 22 September 2018
Emerging out of the 1970s community arts movement, neighbouring organisations Four Corners and Camerawork championed socially-engaged, experimental approaches to filmmaking and photography.
This exhibition explored their radical visions.
Partisan Coffee House
Fri 5 May 2017 – Sat 27 May 2017
Featuring unseen photographs by Roger Mayne, this exhibition explored the fascinating story of the Partisan Coffee House, founded by radical historian Raphael Samuel and cultural theorist Stuart Hall.