Citizen scientists launch exhibition of their work in east London

On 15th June 2024 we launched Citizen Science Now! Research by the Community, an exhibition of the exciting work from our citizen scientists across London. The showcase, co-curated by Newham-based citizen scientist Twinkle, was part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Institute for Global Prosperity.

From their work investigating the barriers to prosperity in east London, to helping shape a new Community Wealth Fund in Camden, to asking the ostensibly simple question of ‘what makes a good life’ in North Kensington, citizen scientists trained by the new UCL Citizen Science Academy have been conducting community-based research across the capital.

The exhibition, held at the new UCL campus in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, was a great opportunity to reflect on all the thought-provoking questions asked by those with real passion for their communities over the past year.

The outputs on display, including zines featuring the citizen scientists’ own lived experiences, and illustrations by artist Alaa Alsaraji, demonstrated the diverse range of themes that have been investigated over the past few years through various qualitative research methods.

Co-curator and Citizen Science Academy alumna Twinkle said about her time as co-curator:

“This was an immensely enriching and fulfilling experience. Working closely with Academy Lead Joseph and the IGP team was crucial to the planning, organisation, and execution of the exhibition. Our collective efforts brought together individuals with diverse skills, experiences and perspectives, fostering a strong sense of partnership, mutual respect, and shared commitment. This collaborative approach not only allowed us to learn valuable lessons but also ensured that each person's unique expertise contributed to addressing challenges in creative and effective ways.”

The exhibition was funded by the UCL East Community Engagement team, and much of the work featured stemmed from individuals from communities surrounding the UCL East campus, who have conducted research as part of the Prosperity in east London 2021-2031 longitudinal study. This project, led by the PROCOL UK research team at the IGP, is a 10-year study tracing the effects of large-scale and long-term urban regeneration on local communities in east London, and will be recruiting a new group of local citizen scientists in 2025.

Another featured project was Good Life North Kensington, which brought together seven citizen social scientists to explore what a ‘good life’ means for people in the North Kensington area of west London, and what some of the barriers are to achieving it. Their work included their zines, but also was showcased through illustrations, printed on silk, by artist Alaa Alsaraji, who worked with the group turning their research themes into visual artwork.

Creating engaging and visual outputs that speak to a public audience is a key mission of the IGP’s work, based on the belief that research that includes inputs from local communities should also feed results back to them, broadening the often academic outputs of university-led projects.

The exhibition launch created an opportunity to award the new UCL Citizen Science Certificate to three members of this project, Maysa Mohamoud, Aisha Tahliil and Sarah Smoured, who were able to join us in person. The certificate acknowledges the great work that citizen scientists do on research projects, and their success in passing all assignments that are completed alongside their fieldwork.

To learn more about the UCL Citizen Science Academy, please visit prosperity-global.org/citizen-science-academy