‘Year 3’: the billboard photo project documenting the next generation of Londoners

To borrow the words of Whitney Houston: we believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them be photographed en masse for a project by Turner Prize- and Oscar-winning artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen.

Working with the Tate galleries, McQueen invited around 1,500 Year 3 groups in London to sit for a class portrait. The aim: to capture kids at a pivotal point of their education. State primaries (including McQueen’s old school in Ealing), faith schools, special schools, and home-educated kids all took part. 

The photographs go on display at Tate Britain later this month – but thanks to Tate and the Artangel organisation, more than 600 London billboards will feature the class photos from this week. Get out there and check out the future face of our city.

All photographs: Theo Christelis, courtesy of Steve McQueen, Tate and Artangel

‘Year 3’ by Steve McQueen appears on billboards across London until Nov 18, and at Tate Britain from Nov 12.