Against the Tide

Coastal Youth Exhibition

Coastal Youth is an exhibition of photography and film made by young local artists as part of the Against the Tide project.

Led by photojournalist Polly Braden, the project has worked with young people in places as diverse as Blackpool, Portsmouth, Ramsgate and right here in Whitehaven.

In Whitehaven, the project was delivered in association with artist Zoe Forster. Through a series of weekly workshops a body of photography and film work has emerged over the Spring/Summer that explores what it means to be a young person living on the coast of West Cumbria.

The project hopes to shine a light on the kind of changes you need to build a better future. You can have a look at some of the work of the Against the Tide project here, which has been published in The Guardian newspaper.

About Zoe Forster

Zoe Forster is a West Cumbrian Artist whose work celebrates the people and places of Cumbria. She aims to share knowledge and skills with the people she creates work for, championing her community above all else. The importance of providing quality access to the arts for the people she works with is as important to her as creating work itself.

Having studied in London, at Chelsea College of Arts and then The Slade School of Fine Art, Zoe became increasingly aware of the disproportionate lack of working class Artists studying alongside her. This led Zoe back to her community in an attempt to share working-class stories and experiences in a primarily middle to upper-class setting. Many years down the line, Zoe now prioritises projects in which an entire community may benefit, seeing the expanse to which a work can grow and take root, and the good this can do. 

Rosehill is proud to be a partner of Cumbria Arts & Culture Network's 'See It To Be It' project, supporting young people to develop creative careers in Cumbria. This project is part of our ongoing commitment to creating more opportunities for young people.