Events & Exhibitions

Community in Lockdown

When the pandemic lockdown started on 23 rd March 2020. All ‘non-essential’ shops were closed and we were told to stay at home
though permitted to leave home for essential purposes such as
buying food, essential workers could go to work, and people could
exercise alone.


Many people relied on their neighbours for help and support, street
Chat groups were set up and on 26th March 2020 the first Clap for
Carers – where neighbours stood outside and clapped for NHS,
transport and other essential workers – was held. For many this
became a regular Thursday evening event.
Community foodbanks were established to help deliver food to local
people.


These were extraordinary times.


During lockdown our group Rosetta Photographers Collective started
on WhatsApp. Photo challenges were set four times a week initially –
reducing as pandemic restrictions eased to once weekly.
The photographs in the exhibition come from a group project: to
photograph what community meant to us during the pandemic. For
some it was community spirit through food banks, for others it was
work, or the ways we spent our time. This exhibition brings together
what our community meant to each of us. The photographs were
taken during different stages of the pandemic lockdown and
according to the rules at the time.