‘To reflect on the Whitechapel’s education and schools programmes is to understand that grounded relationships between artists, teachers, curators and participants can be truly powerful. It demonstrates the impact for artists of developing their practice in a community with many threads and layers; and how nurturing creative relationships in the heart of a locality can be a cornerstone of an international artistic programme.’ – Professor Michael Tooby, Professor of Art and Design at Bath Spa University, and former Director of Tate St Ives 

Between 1979 and 1989, Whitechapel Gallery established one of the most significant community education programmes in British art history. Led by Jenni Lomax, the Gallery brought artists including Sonia Boyce, Rose Garrard, Jeffrey Dennis and Richard Deacon into creative dialogue with local schools and communities, engaging thousands of young people at a time when arts education was coming under sustained political pressure. 

Including extensive archival material, In the Company of Art examines the impact and legacy of the Whitechapel’s education programmes, alongside the contested political and social contexts in which they took shape – offering an urgent reminder of the radical importance of arts education for all.