Grown up in Britain celebrates a century of teenage life from the roaring 20s to the youth of today. Going beyond the headlines, the exhibition chronicles the everyday experiences and cultural impact of young people through photographs, objects and stories. Reflecting the diverse movements that have been forged by youth, the exhibition explores what unites us across generations and asks, “what makes Britain?”

Explore the exhibition with the Museum of Youth Culture’s Archive Projects Manager Lisa der Weduwe in our video below

The Museum of Youth Culture is an emerging museum dedicated to the styles, sounds and social movements innovated by young people over the last 100 years. Championing the impact of youth on modern society, the Museum has been collecting photographs of youth and subculture movements for over 25 years. From the bomb-site Bicycle racers in post-war 1940s London, to the Acid House ravers of 1980s Northern England, the Museum of Youth Culture empowers the extraordinary everyday stories of growing up in Britain.

You can be part of this exhibition - send in your photographs, objects and stories of being young here: museumofyouthculture.com/coventry

The term teenager can be traced back to the mid-20th century, capturing the public imagination in the wake or the Second World War. However Teenage Kicks starts its journey before then, in the 1920s, although you could easily trace youth culture's roots further back. Reeling from the aftermath of the First World War and with a high demand for young workers, teenagers with a little money in their pockets escaping the humdrum of everyday life revelled at dance halls springing up across the country and headed to the cinema in droves.

Home is the first place we feel comfortable to project who we are and the values we hold. Through our family, carers and communities, we learn about the different roles that people take up in the world, shaping who we will become.

We all experience our own version of homelife depending on generational, cultural and economic differences. While for many home is a safe place, for others it’s a more difficult environment to navigate. Young people may be vulnerable to a changing home, moving between care, refuge and extended family or making it on their own. Wherever home may be we find routine in the mayhem of the morning rush, TV dinners and family gatherings that lead into arguments over generational differences.

First jobs plunge us into a world of responsibility and m mark a shift in not just how we are viewed by others, but the part we play in society. These new grown up expectations build confidence and teach us lessons that stick for life whilst supplying that important payslip that paves the way to independence. We might find our way in through the family business or stay local with a paper round, maybe a Saturday job will take us to the high street or the local fast food joint.

Do you remember what you bought with your first pay cheque?

Young people have always had a taste for rebellion, taking leading roles in grassroots political movements. With an acute awareness of injustice, teenagers were often at the front of marches, fighting for a more equal society in a tradition that has continued to this day.

Students protested against war and barricaded their universities while the pioneers of the Gay Liberation Front fought for justice. Experiences on the sharp end of racism and police brutality saw young people organise as part of the Black Power movement, form a nationwide network of Asian Youth Movements and fuse music and politics in Rock Against Racism. The 1990s saw environmental protests led by young people and thousands gathering for the Freedom to Party rallies. In recent years young people looking to shape their future have organised through the Brexit debate and movements such as Extinction Rebellion. Meanwhile many of the same issues are still filling placards and protest chants, from Black Lives Matter to Kill the Bill, Reclaim the Night and LGBTQIA+ rights. Even during the national lockdown, young people took to the streets in their thousands to demand justice on these issues and the youth of today continue to be empowered to take a stand.

Attracted by high levels of employment in the motor industry, the Coventry of the post-war years had a higher proportion of people under 25 than the national average. Young people meeting in factories and looking for ways to spend their free time flocked to the city's nightclubs. During the 60s the Locarno (now Central Library) was the place to go and the city had thriving jazz, folk and skiffle scenes. As well as the larger dance halls, the 1970s onwards saw an increasing number of pubs and smaller venues catering to the latest youth subcultures, such as punk, soul and disco.

The post-war period also saw migrants from Ireland and Commonwealth countries arrive in the city. Late night ‘blues parties’ run by and for Caribbean communities were held around Coventry, while early reggae and ska acts performed at city venues. It was the children of these first generation migrants who would go on to fuse their parents’ sound with Western influences and create two of Coventry’s biggest exports; British Bhangra and 2 Tone.

As part of the ‘Grown up in Britain’ campaign, the Museum of Youth Culture has visited Coventry’s markets and community centres to collect photos and memories of growing up in the city over the last ten decades. We asked you to dust off the shoeboxes and search through your family albums to help us build a picture of youth culture in Coventry.

You told us about meeting your first girlfriend at The Climax and showed us a photo booth photo taken at Woolworths in 1973. You showed us a picture of going to
your first gig - seeing Deep Purple at the NEC in 1991 and saving up all your dinner money to pay for the ticket. We heard about meeting husbands and wives, dancing Saturday night away and working in the factories. From the generations who grew up riding the merry go round in Coventry Retail Market and gigs at the Golden Cross to the best place to get chips after a night out - Parson’s Nose, so we’re told.

Grown up in Britain: 100 Years of Teenage Kicks is made possible with generous support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the Museum of Youth Culture’s lead project’ Amplified Voices: Turning up the Volume on Regional Youth Culture’. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to collect and showcase the incredible, diverse story of youth culture across the breadth of Britain.

The digital exhibition has been curated by Joy Corcec.