Paradise Street: The Lost Art of Playing Outside

Half a century ago, ‘playing out’ was expected of kids who came together, in all weathers, to run, jump, skip, swing, kick, fight and climb - usually unsupervised. With growing fears over children’s vulnerability in modern society much of this has been lost. Paradise Street brings together the work of seven photographers including Shirley Baker, Martin O'Neill and Paul Kaye, most who lived and worked among the people they photographed. Spanning the early ‘30s to the late 1970s, these black-and-white images are a celebration of community, trust and friendship, showing how attitudes towards children’s safety have shifted over the 20th century.