Between 1979 and 1989, Whitechapel Gallery established one of the most significant community education programmes in British art history. Led by Jenni Lomax, the Gallery brought artists including Sonia Boyce, Rose Garrard, Jeffrey Dennis and Richard Deacon into creative dialogue with local schools and communities, engaging thousands of young people at a time when arts education was coming under sustained political pressure. 

Including extensive archival material, In the Company of Art examines the impact and legacy of the Whitechapel’s education programmes, alongside the contested political and social contexts in which they took shape – offering an urgent reminder of the radical importance of arts education for all.