Diaries of the Here and Now

11 November 2019 – 31 January 2020
Curated by Dawn Cole

On November 11th 1918, the guns fell silent and hostilities ceased on the Western Front with the signing of the armistice. One hundred years later we asked people to record their day on November 11th 2018. This exhibition features a selection of those diaries created for The Diaries of the Here and Now project, which are now part of the University of Kent’s Special Collections & Archives.

The diaries, written by people spanning several generations, and feature drawings, paintings, collage, poetry and even film, and take numerous themes, including:

  • general accounts of the day
  • political
  • remembrance and remembering specific people
  • memorialisation
  • reflections on war and conflict
  • health
  • Brexit
  • fears for the future
  • personal stories
  • journeys

The Diaries of the Here and Now was developed by artist Dawn Cole (www.dawncole.co.uk).