This emerging museum is 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 of Youth Culture is formed from the archives of YOUTH CLUB, a non-profit Heritage Funded collection incorporating over 150,000 photographs, ephemera and educational texts from over 400 photographers and writers celebrating youth culture history. 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.

Museum of Youth Culture represents the world’s most comprehensive collection of youth culture content tailored for the specialist handling of young people’s heritage. A diverse youth engagement is at the heart of the Museum incorporating skills training, talks and workshops, helping to inspire future generations through the power of youth culture. Working together with writers and academics from The Subcultures Network to make youth culture history accessible to everyone.

BUILDING A PEOPLE’S MUSEUM

Central to the work we are doing as a Museum of Youth Culture is the people whose stories we are looking to represent, share and celebrate. There are many ways in which you can get involved with the museum, from submitting your photographers, ephemera and stories to volunteering. Find out more here.

POP-UP

The Museum of Youth Culture will display its collection in person with its pop-up shop, gallery and event space at 3 Carnaby Street. Inside, you’ll find a bunch of books on youth counterculture, as well as three great exhibitions. First there’s the ‘Reconstructed Teenage Bedroom’ installation, a big, beautiful adolescent mess that holds five decades’ worth of memories in the posters, zines and photographs covering its walls. Then there’s ‘The Rusty Pin Badge Collection’ and, in the basement, rave flyer collections from Phatmedia and Chelsea Louise Berlin. 

You can find the Museum of Youth Culture pop-up at 3 Carnaby St, Soho, London, W1F 9PB from Apr 16.