AN ‘IMPORTANT’ photography exhibition which celebrates young people is now open at a Coventry gallery.
The Saturday Town project by photographer Casey Orr has opened at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum – featuring 95 images depicting youth culture across the UK.
Olivia Birtwistle is one of the young Coventrians to have been photographed by Casey.The photos showcase the evolving identities of young people across the UK over the past 13 years in a celebration of youth style, fashion and self-expression – including 35 new portraits of young Coventrians from 2026 who have posed at pop-up shoots across the city.
The images were selected from more than 4,000 portraits taken by America-born photographer Casey, who since 2013 has travelled to towns and cities across the country on Saturday afternoons, setting up pop-up studios to photograph young people and capture the spirit of youth culture in public spaces.
This included two pop-up photoshoots at FarGo Village followed by one at The Herbert earlier this year.
Speaking about the new exhibition, which runs until May 4, Casey said: “This project is important as it gives a voice and visibility to young people and celebrates their creativity.
“People use fashion and style to explore their identities, find their tribes and state their values. Young people continue to reinvent youth culture, remixing and responding to what has come before but with an interpretation that speaks of their contemporary experience.”
She said the biggest change reflected in her exhibition was the collapse of gender binaries in 2016, which she describes as a ‘revolution’ which was ‘incredible to witness’.
Hawraa Hussain from Earlsdon features in the exhibition.She added: “During the course of my work I have witnessed people using their chosen names for the first time, and I have photographed and been a part of trans and non-binary kids feeling seen and celebrated.
“Their trust in me just blows me away every time.
“Visibility can be a springboard for a person to have the confidence to dive into what they love, so photographing and celebrating youth creativity and individuality through portraiture is my way of saying ‘I see you and I think what you’re doing is powerful.’
“One of the overriding messages emerging from this exhibition is that identity continues to be central to youth culture in 2026 – and more importantly, even during the troubled times that we are living in, there is hope for love and individuality.”
Marguerite Nugent, Director of Culture at CV Life, which operates the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, said she was thrilled that Casey had chosen Coventry to showcase her ‘nationally celebrated project’.
She added: “The Herbert has always been a place that celebrates inclusivity and creativity, and Casey’s work shines an important light on where we are going as a society through the art of portraits.”
Casey Orr has exhibited widely in both the UK and the US, including at the National Portrait Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and the Palace of Westminster.
Her previous project Saturday Girl won the Format Photography Festival Award in 2019, and Saturday Town culminated in a major exhibition at Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery in 2024.
Visit www.theherbert.org/whats-on/1923/saturday-town for more information.
