Historic England is calling on photographers to share images that document their experience of seven days in ‘lockdown’. Ten contemporary artists from across the United Kingdom have also been chosen to produce special images over the week, including photographers Chloe Dewe Mathews, Anand Chhabra, Coralie Datta, Polly Braden, Bella Milroy, Tristan Poyser and Roy Mehta.
From rainbows in windows and star jumps on balconies, to explorations of your local area, Historic England is asking you to share images that show how we are all facing the challenges of lockdown, self-isolation and social distancing.
Show your experiences of lockdown, how your local places have transformed, how communities have come together, and how life has changed. English Heritage wants to spark a conversation about identity and its connection to history and place, and help people navigate their way through with reflection, expression and creativity.
Running from Wednesday, 29 April to Tuesday, 5 May, the aim of the #PicturingLockdown project is to create a unique and reflective record of a week across the nation during this extraordinary moment in history.
Claudia Kenyatta, Director of Regions at Historic England said: "We are facing one of the most extraordinary moments in living memory. During this time of necessary lockdown restrictions, we are asking the public and some of our most talented contemporary artists to help us record history, whilst being careful to abide by the government’s social distancing measures. We want people to show us their experiences of lockdown, how places local to them have transformed, communities have come together, and life has changed for us all. These challenging times are encouraging us all to pause and reflect upon our relationship with our surroundings. We hope this project inspires creativity and reflection, allowing the public create a unique time capsule for the future."
100 of the images submitted by the public and artists will be chosen to enter the Historic England Archive to provide a record for the future. Of the submissions from the public, the 50 most evocative, informative and inspiring images will combine with 50 works from ten contemporary artists into a Collection. These will be catalogued by the Historic England Archive and will be made freely accessible online.
This is the first time the public have been asked to capture a moment in time and save it in the Historic England Archive of over 12 million photographs since the Second World War.
Historic England is asking the public to keep to social distancing measures when taking part in this project and only go outside for food, health reasons or for work if you cannot work from home.
Find out more here: https://historicengland.org.uk/get-involved/picturing-lockdown/
Plastic crates used to manage socially-distanced queuing at Sainsbury's supermarket, Bath.
Image: Michael Pritchard