Exhibition

Snap Happy! How Children Became Photographers

14 October 2026 - 21 February 2027
Monday-Wednesday: 10:30am-6pm, Thursday-Friday: 10:30am-8pm, Saturday: 10:30am-6pm, Sunday: 11am-6pm

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Through photographs and archives, Snap Happy! celebrates the creativity of generation of young photographers.

Do you remember your first camera? Or the first photograph you took? Snap Happy! explores the history of children as photographers. From post-war camera clubs to magazines and photobooks designed for young people, this exhibition traces photography’s movement from elite pastime to accessible and popular hobby.

Featuring archives of advertising, manuals, comics and toys, Snap Happy! shows how photography became more mainstream and much loved by younger generations. From snapshots of family, friends and pets to school projects and photographic experimentation, Snap Happy! celebrates a child's eye view of the world through the camera.

Snap Happy! is curated by Annebella Pollen, Professor of Visual and Material Culture at University of Brighton, UK, where she researches undervalued archives and untold stories in art and design history.

Whippersnappers: How Children Became Photographers by Annebella Pollen will be published in September by Four Corners Books.

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Visitor information

Address

The Photographers' Gallery

16-18 Ramillies Street, London, Greater London, W1F 7LW
020 7087 9300

Opening times

Monday - Wednesday 10.30–18.00

Thursday & Friday 10.30–20.00

Saturday 10.30–18.00

Sunday 11.00–18.00

Exclusions and safety measures

Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Day

Visitor information