Young People’s Guide to Self-Portraiture

This project has now been archived.

The Young People’s Guide to Self-Portraiture was a resource made by young people for young people. It was created as part of the National Portrait Gallery’s Heritage Lottery-funded project following the acquisition of Van Dyck’s final self-portrait.

Artist Anthony Luvera collaborated with a group of young people aged 16 to 21 years to research self-portraiture. Taking Van Dyck’s self-portrait and the Gallery’s rich Collection of self-portraits as a starting point, they explored themes including gender, class, race, identity and representation. They met and interviewed curators, archivists and staff; discussed self-portraiture together and created illustrations, drawings and notes about their thoughts and reflections during the workshops. They responded by creating their own vlogs – short films in which they express their perspectives and ideas – and pose questions to engage other young people about self-portraiture. Throughout the Guide, they invite young people to share their creativity and ideas.

Anthony Luvera is an artist, writer, and course director of MA Photography and Collaboration at Coventry University. Using photography, video, writing and sound, his practice involves collaborative approaches to making self-portraits and other forms of representation.