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Changemaker Lens

A Global Youth Storytelling Exhibition

Changemaker Lens has been made possible by the generous support of The Rothschild Foundation

Changemaker Lens is the storytelling strand of the Cugoano Changemakers Programme. It invites young people from around the UK and abroad, to tell the truth of their lived experience through photography, film, art, and creative expression. Launching in London in May 2026, it forms the heart of an emerging global ecosystem of youth leadership.

Where and when will it take place?

The Changemaker Lens exhibition will be held at St James’s Church on Tuesday 26th May 6pm-8pm.

The Exhibition

21 young artists have been selected to exhibit their work at an exhibition in London in May 2026, with cultural institutions, funders, and practitioners in attendance. The exhibition will later be shown in New York in September.

This exhibition sits at the heart of what we’re trying to build.

Through photography, film, and other creative forms, these artists are sharing their own perspectives, experiences and responses to the issues shaping their lives – from injustice and inequality to identity, community and leadership. Just as importantly, their work speaks not only to the challenges, but to the ways they are already trying to respond, organise, and create change.

The evening will include:

  • The exhibition itself, with opportunities to meet and speak with the artists
  • A small number of guest speakers who will share exciting insights into the development of the Cugoano Changemakers programme, and why this work is so urgently needed now
  • Food and drink, and time to connect with others across our network

Most importantly, this event marks the moment we open applications to the Cugoano Changemakers programme – a new initiative focused on supporting young people to develop as thoughtful, creative and accountable leaders.

Who are our Global Partners?

Alongside our St James’s cohort, we are working in partnership with brilliant organisations whose young voices will be woven through Changemaker Lens:

  • Action Equity and EmpowermentOrganisation(Syria)
    Princess Motswana Institute (South Africa)
    • Tamer Institute (Palestine)
    • Princess Taghrid Institute (Jordan)
    • Triibe (Washington DC)
    • University of Utah

Why Storytelling?

Young people everywhere face shifting grounds. The future of work is unstable and unpredictable. Many will move between multiple careers and identities. Others live through conflict, displacement, or environmental upheaval. Storytelling provides an anchor in this landscape.

Globally, art, photography, and creative expression have been used in the face of systemic oppression to resist, to survive, and to build community.

We want young people to:

  • Claim their own narrative in a world that often speaks over them
  • Build connection across language, geography and circumstance
  • Challenge the reductive stories told about their communities
  • Be heard, and more importantly – listened to.

A photograph of a quiet morning in Gaza, a spoken word piece from Washington, or a video diary from a young person in London does not simply show a moment. It reveals the inner life of a generation who are trying to make sense of a rapidly changing world.

Changemaker Lens is a visual storytelling platform that brings together young changemakers whose worlds may differ but whose questions often echo one another. It carries the central inquiry of the Youth Changemaker Programme:

What if leadership is something we live together, rather than something we hold alone?