Exhibition
The Face Magazine: Culture Shift explores the legacy of The Face, the groundbreaking publication that redefined fashion, music, and youth culture.
From 1980 to 2004, The Face was more than a magazine—it was a cultural phenomenon. It launched the careers of photographers, stylists, and models, including a young Kate Moss, while featuring musicians who would go on to global fame. Pushing the boundaries of fashion photography, it became a platform for creative experimentation, shaping the visual identity of its time. Since its relaunch in 2019, The Face continues to champion innovative talent across photography, fashion, music, and graphic design.
This exhibition presents over 200 photographs by more than 80 renowned photographers, including Sheila Rock, Corinne Day, David Sims, Elaine Constantine, Stéphane Sednaoui, and Sølve Sundsbø. Many of these works are being displayed beyond the magazine’s pages for the first time, offering a rare opportunity to see them in a new light.
Curated by Sabina Jaskot-Gill, Senior Curator of Photographs at the National Portrait Gallery, the exhibition also features contributions from Lee Swillingham, former Art Director of The Face (1992–1999), and Norbert Schoerner, a photographer whose work was instrumental to the magazine’s aesthetic throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
Accompanying the exhibition is a new publication featuring essays and interviews with key figures who shaped The Face’s creative vision, including contributions from Ekow Eshun, Jamie Morgan, Pete Paphides, and Matthew Whitehouse, alongside conversations between Nick Logan and Lee Swillingham; Neville Brody, Jill Furmanovsky and Sheila Rock; Elaine Constantine, Glen Luchford and Nancy Rohde; and Norbert Schoerner and Stéphane Sednaoui.
Members can enjoy unlimited free entry and do not need to pre-book— simply present a membership card at the entrance. Tickets are subject to availability, and advance booking is recommended. General admission is £23 (£25.50 with donation). Visitors aged 25 and under can purchase £5 tickets on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Pay What You Can entry is available on Saturdays from 17:30 to 20:00. Seniors (60+) receive 50% off the adult price every Monday.
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Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery sits seconds away from Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square, London. It was the first portrait gallery in the world when it opened in 1856 and houses the world's largest collection of personalities and faces, from the late Middle Ages to the present day.