The Museum of Croydon, located in the Croydon Clocktower, will host the ‘Archives Can Be Anything’ exhibition, which will run from February 26 to May 10.
The free exhibition will feature creative work by 10 local young people, aged 14 to 18, known as the Young Archivists.
The exhibition is part of the Dynamic Collections project, which is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and aims to digitally transform Croydon’s archives.
The project celebrates Croydon’s legacy as the London Borough of Culture 2023.
Over the past year, the Young Archivists have received training in archiving, digital skills, research, project management, exhibition design, and events planning.
They also participated in creative workshops, including writing, illustration, design, printmaking, and collage.
The young people created artwork, zines (fan magazines), films, poetry, and more, inspired by the borough’s archives.
These archives include council documents on plans for redevelopment in Croydon, local newspaper articles, historic photographs, and records of local clubs, societies, and community organisations.
One of the artworks features a comic depicting an alien landing in the borough, inspired by a local paper’s article about UFO sightings in New Addington.
The comic asks visitors to consider how the borough welcomes new arrivals into the community.
Another artwork is a mixed-media portrait of an important figure in the history of Croydon’s Global Majority population.
It is collaged with stories of race and racism found in Croydon Archives, to highlight how certain stories have been under-represented in archival collections.
The exhibition also features an illustrated manifesto, inspired by maps in the archives.
This collaborative project visualises an alternative youth-led vision of the borough and shows its creators’ hopes for its future.
Young Archivist and student Randal, 19, said: “I was inspired by this one piece from 1998 from the Croydon Advertiser, which was an interview about supposed UFO sightings in New Addington.
“I was looking at what it would be like if there were aliens that had been attracted to Croydon.”
Randal explored different perspectives of how people see the area, adding that the project had shown them that: “everyone in Croydon stands together – it’s really diverse, and anyone can really fit in with one another.”
Jason Perry, executive mayor of Croydon, said: “This exhibition will showcase the creativity of our young residents.
“It also demonstrates our determination to help see our children and young people have every opportunity to thrive, learn and fulfil their potential by engaging in community projects.”
