Exhibition of David Hoffman's East End photography

In 1973, when David Hoffman was a young photographer, he came to live in a squat in Fieldgate Mansions and it changed his life. Over the next decade, he documented homelessness, racism and the rise of protest in startlingly intimate and compassionate pictures to compose a vital photographic testimony of resilience. 

Help us stage an exhibition at the Museum of the Home of this superlative photography which speaks vividly to our own times. We are passionate to bring David's vision to the widest audience, revealing how the world has changed in the past half century yet not changed enough.

If we can raise £10,000 to produce an exhibition, the Museum of the Home have offered to host it for six months from October until March, accompanied by a programme of events exploring themes of homelessness, racism and protest. Afterwards, David Hoffman's photographs will become part of the museum's permanent collection so they can be shown in future as a legacy of our project, which means we need to frame them robustly in museum quality frames.

Coinciding with our exhibition, Spitalfields Life Books is publishing 'Endurance & Joy in the East End, 1971-1987' by David Hoffman, a 240 page photographic monograph with extensive commentary by the photographer. 

Thanks to the courage and determination of the squatters who stopped the demolition, the fine Victorian Fieldgate Mansions still stands providing invaluable housing to families in Whitechapel today.

"The old East End was disappearing as I took these photographs, being able to bring back a glimpse of its spirit means a lot to me." David Hoffman