Bedrooms of Torbay - Call For Submissions
- punkapcic
- Mar 4
- 2 min read
We often talk about poverty in statistics, percentages, reports, and headlines.
But poverty isn’t experienced in numbers. It’s lived, every day, in the spaces children call their own.
Back in 2020, inspired by an exhibition called Bedrooms of London, we began a project to explore what life really looked like behind closed doors here in Torbay.
During lockdown, children were confined to their homes, often spending most of their time in their bedrooms — spaces that became classrooms, safe places, and sometimes the only place they could go. We wanted to understand what those spaces looked like in real life.
So we asked families to share photos of their children’s bedrooms - no tidying, no staging, just an honest snapshot.
What we saw was really powerful.
The images revealed a real and often stark picture of life: overcrowded rooms, poor conditions, lack of space and also the wider contrast in how children are growing up.
We had planned in 2020 to turn this into an exhibition to show the real lives behind the statistics but lockdowns and logistics meant the project had to be paused.
Now, we’re bringing it back.
This project isn’t just about poverty.
It’s about difference.
The difference between space and overcrowding. Between comfort and compromise. Between having everything you need and going without.
We want to show the full range of children’s home lives in Torbay, from those experiencing hardship to those who aren’t.
You do not have to be living in poverty to take part.
We welcome submissions from all families living in Torbay.
By capturing these real, unfiltered spaces side by side, we can demonstrate the true variance in children’s everyday environments and start more honest conversations about inequality, opportunity, and lived experience.
📸 We are asking for your help
We are inviting families across Torbay to submit a photo of their child’s (or children’s) bedroom, exactly as it is in the moment.
• No tidying or preparing
• No posing
• Just real life, as it is
Please ensure:
• No children or people are visible in the photo
• No identifying information (e.g. names, school logos, addresses) is shown
Photos will be added anonymously to a growing collection.
Once we have enough submissions, these images will be used in an exhibition to:
• Show the reality of childhood poverty in Torbay
• Highlight the differences between children’s home lives
• Demonstrate the wide variance in living conditions
• Challenge assumptions and stereotypes
• Give a voice to experiences that often go unseen
• Help people better understand the environments children are growing up in
📧 How to submit
Please upload your photos using our anonymous form and consent to their use here:
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