When design fights back: The Right to Protest Exhibition
Image: Detail of exhibition fly posters by Clive Russell.
The first instalment of When design fights back: The Right to Protest Exhibition was at Greatorex Street between 18–28 September 2025 as part of the Shoreditch Design Triangle and the London Design Festival.
Featuring iconic posters from two of the largest private collections in the UK, and new works by influential designers and artists, the exhibition reveals how the visual arts have supported and inspired protest. It also explores the many ways artists and designers (and art and design collectives) have used their craft and concepts to communicate difficult ideas and emotions.
The exhibition uses workshops, artist tours and performance to reach out to visitors, helping them understand they are part of our rich history of protest by inviting them to take part.
“With a collection dating back to the 1960s, the Museum of UnRest is displaying it’s archive of iconic screen-printed posters, marking the struggle against climate breakdown, the cost of living crisis, housing shortage, and more.” Sudi Jama, It’s Nice That.
The fundamental right to protest is under increasing threat, from governments worldwide, including western democracies and in London itself.
This sits at odds with London being the self-proclaimed “creative capital of the world,” since it has always had a radical edge.
Figures like Ken Garland penned manifestos warning of the creeping power of commercialism, while 1980s collectives including the Paddington Printshop – whose posters feature in the exhibition – empowered communities through visual activism:
“The exhibition is a reengagement with design’s radical past, and a call to arms in a world where our right to protest is under threat,” John Phillips, Creative Review and Design Week.
The Right to Protest brings that spirit into the present and reminds us how design and visual culture compels people to take a stand.
The exhibition features:
–Rare posters from two of the UK’s largest private protest art collections
–The world’s largest screenprint
–Environmental protest installations and immersive soundscapes
–Original works by The Paddington Printshop, the radical voice of 1980s London
–Work from artists and collectives including kennardphillipps, Ackroyd & Harvey, Ocean Rebellion, Alexis Bamforth, Jo Barnfield, Ruth Beale, Dave Bell, Mr. Bingo, Blacklodge, Sarah Boris, Anthony Burrill, Kristian Buus, Weyi Chen, Elly Clarke, Michael Collins, Paul Davis, Matt Frame, Miles Glyn, Jonny Hannah, Joe Hesketh, Magnus Irving, Krime, Colum Leith, Rada Lewis, Daniel Lismore, Richard Mackness, Brian McHenry, Pig Meat, John Newling, John Phillips, Aidan Saunders, Frank Riot, Clive Russell, Wankers of the World, Merny Wernz, Phil Wrigglesworth and many more.
Live Programming Included:
–Artist-led tours
–Protest art workshops (kennardphillipps and Ocean Rebellion)
–Talks on the history and future of resistance graphics
–Protest performance art evening
–Protest film evening
PRESS: Hi Res images and more information available by request.
CATALOGUE
