Exhibition: Generation UCL: 200 Years of Student Life in London

“There is no university without its students.” This is the idea at the heart of UCL’s exhibition ‘Generation UCL: 200 Years of Student Life in London’ which takes a fresh look at the university’s two-century history through the eyes of its students. Exploring the lives and telling the stories of generations of UCL students, this display seeks to celebrate, confront, and retell the complex history of the university.

On show are photographs, possessions, videos, maps and more from UCL’s archives and museums, each of which sheds light on an aspect of UCL student life. The exhibition showcases national and international student activism across two centuries, taking in the abolition of slavery, the Spanish Civil War, 1956's Soviet invasion of Hungary, the 2003 war in Iraq and the more recent Black Lives Matter protests. Student action relating to the university itself is also represented, including a 1970s campaign to end sexual harassment on campus, and calls for campus decolonisation, focusing on UCL's role in legitimising eugenics.

Also documenting an ongoing oral history project, the exhibition includes audio clips from interviews with UCL alumni and extracts from memoirs voiced by actors. Hear recollections of segregation between male and female students in the 1880s, life as an international student in 1909, the impact of the Second World War, and London’s 1990s nightlife scene, among many other memories.

Immerse yourself in the history of student life in London and look out for UCL’s other exciting museums, exhibitions and displays while you are on campus!