15 years of Duchamp and Sons is an original exhibition curated by Whitechapel Gallery’s youth collective Duchamp and Sons, with artist Holly Graham, and Amelia Oakley (Curator: Youth Programmes, Whitechapel Gallery).

The exhibition marks the collective’s 15-year anniversary, and with it a generation of artistic experimentation during a period of unprecedented pressure on arts education, funding, and young people.

Founded in its current form in 2010, Duchamp and Sons is a collective of young people aged 15-24 from in and around East London who meet regularly at Whitechapel Gallery to collaborate with each other and guest contemporary artists on creative projects. Prioritizing those from backgrounds underrepresented in the arts, the group aims to offer a supportive and participatory space for members to connect with their creative and critical voice, and to discover more about possible pathways in visual art.

Over the past 15 years, members have gathered to experiment together, share space for food and conversation, and learn more about art making, curation, and creative practices. Their past artistic projects include establishing an artist manifesto, recording an EP, making a film in the midst of a pandemic, curating exhibitions, programming events, and in 2010, choosing an evocative name for the group.

Their moniker arose from a desire to cement their identity as artists rooted locally, by uniting ‘Duchamp’ as a representative of subversive art making, with ‘& Sons’ which referenced a local shop on Whitechapel High Street.

This new exhibition will be a celebration of Duchamp and Sons’ far-reaching and ever-evolving artistic collaborations, past and present, and a timely reminder of the crucial need for young people’s voices in gallery spaces.

Working in collaboration with artist Holly Graham, Duchamp and Sons will co-curate this new participatory exhibition for all ages, which reflects on the collective’s history and asks vital questions about what it means to make and collaborate as a young person today.

Playful re-imaginings of archival materials will combine with new audio experiments, and space for live participation, offering a welcoming space for people to gather, reflect, and perhaps collaborate themselves.

Graham says “I wasn’t involved in a dedicated youth collective growing up, but I did have opportunities – signposted by encouraging teachers at my school – to participate in artist-led workshops and projects at different art institutions. It definitely informed my understanding of what art is – and can be.

I often work with archival collections in my own practice as a way of responding to, and thinking about, memory, shared histories, and how we can challenge dominant narratives. For this project, I’ve been working with Duchamp & Sons exploring and responding to their 15 year archive as a way of reflecting on a common history while considering what being in a youth collective means today.

By experimenting with different processes and forms (including oral storytelling and collage) and taking an intuitive approach to curation, over the course of ten sessions, the group will have built up a range of creative tools to draw on when realising their exhibition. I’m really excited to be a part of it.”

Accompanying the exhibition will be a new zine featuring learnings from the 15 years of Duchamp and Sons research project, and events produced in dialogue with Duchamp and Sons members and alumni.

Current Duchamp and Sons Members include Abdi, Aisha, Amir, Arin, Ash, Camila, Constança, Elliot, Eva, Faith, Farjana, Harry, Isabella, Jemila, Jennifer, Josiah, Jessica, Nayyan, Queen, Rasimani, Sabiha, San, Shannay, and Terrell.