Steve McQueen Year 3

Steve McQueen’s epic Year 3 project is one of the most ambitious visual portraits of citizenship ever undertaken, in one of the world’s largest and most diverse cities.

Every primary school in London was invited to take part in the project. 1,504 schools of every kind – state, independent, faith and special needs schools – took up the invitation and a total of 3,168 Year 3 class photographs were taken. Year 3 is considered a milestone year in a child's development – when they start to be more aware of being part of a bigger world beyond their families and friendship groups.

Ahead of the opening of Year 3 at Tate Britain on 12 November 2019, class photographs of Year 3 schoolchildren were displayed on over 600 billboards across London’s 33 boroughs in a city-wide outdoor exhibition curated by Artangel.

Around 7 million people came across the billboards on the side of busy main roads and high streets. They appeared on over 200 railway platforms and 100 London Underground stations – including a platform takeover at Pimlico Underground station that saw 16 billboards on one platform.

The individual class photos are a microcosm of society, and blown up into monumental billboards or gathered together in an epic group portrait, they are a testament to London's great diversity. Looking directly at the camera, the children face the photographer and the viewer, the present and the future.

“There’s an urgency to reflect on who we are and our future […] to have a visual reflection on the people who make this city work. I think it’s important and in some ways urgent.”

— Steve McQueen

“Being smiled at across the tube tracks by a whole class of children and their teachers on my morning commute is an unexpectedly lovely thing.”

— @sarahhirons1, Twitter, 14 November 2019

“An emotional and inspiring portrait of London’s future.”

— @Mayoroflondon, Twitter, 4 November 2019

“I commute a lot in London but this is a game changer . Seeing the diverse toothy smiles of these younglings surely gives hope for our common humanity in the near future.”

— @saintashes, Twitter  21 November 2019