Island of Us: Conversations about Justice with Children (Chisenhale Gallery, 2024)

How do we engage children in deep conversations about freedom and justice? What role can art play in addressing these complex issues? If given the agency, how might children envision and organise a world of their own making—how would we care for one another, resolve conflicts, and find joy?



My book published by Chisenhale Gallery addresses precisely these questions. Based on a project with all 300+ students at Chisenhale Primary School, 𝙄𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙐𝙨: 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 invites reflection on the kind of world we live in and how it might be otherwise.



Over summer 2024, 300 children from the school took over Chisenhale Gallery in response to Rory Pilgrim’s exhibition 𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘬 & 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯. Drawing on the exhibition’s island setting and its explorations of justice and freedom with men incarcerated at HMP Portland, the students spent the week as artists with Young, exploring the complicated issue of how we should treat those who may have hurt others.

Through island-dreaming, fables, manifesto-making, and populating their own island with people, places, plants, and buildings, the students used art to imagine the world they want to live in.

This compact and inspiring book showcases their collaborative work, along with workshop plans, resources, and ideas for artists and educators to initiate related projects in the classroom or elsewhere.

PURCHASE HERE.