About

Every picture tells a story.

What’s yours?

The L8 Unseen exhibition reveals the stories and experiences of a diverse range of people from the Liverpool 8 community. It aims to uncover the spirit and heritage of the area through filmed interviews and striking large-scale photographs taken by renowned photographer Othello De’Souza-Hartley.

The photographs were captured in buildings and places which have a special significance to L8 – many were founded on the proceeds of the city’s international trading links and the transatlantic slave trade.

The Exhibition

News & events

Reverend Canon Bob Lewis
St Margaret of Antioch. Ordained in the Church of England for 35 years and assigned to the parish of St Margaret of Antioch in 2014, Reverend Canon Lewis sees L8 as a vibrant community with a lot of local pride. He embraces its rich, diverse heritage – a heritage that people who have moved away, come back to experience and he celebrates the hope and unity he has witnessed in the area since the earlier riots.
L8 Unseen: Imam Mohammed Alawi, Dr Peter Grant, Father Iakovos Kasinos, and Canon Bob Lewis.
Sandi Hughes
DJ, Filmmaker and Visual Artist Born in Bristol and moved to the L8 area in 1970. Sandi is a DJ, photographer, independent filmmaker, visual artist and winner of a SEEN Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 from Liverpool Pride. Managing her own production company, Shehugs, Sandi refers to herself as an independent, self-sustaining hustler in every positive sense of the word.
Sandi Hughes
Earl Jenkins
Learning Support Mentor. Passionate about the opportunities open to young people in Liverpool, Earl wants to see the recent regeneration deals delivering something for them and their future. He presently works as a learning support mentor at Calderstones Specialist Science College. As well as his involvement with Kingsley United, a successful local football club that works with the youth of Toxteth. Earl is also Chair of the Unity Community Association, which runs the Unity Youth and Community Centre in Granby.
Earl Jenkins
Cherise Smith
Tiber Project – Board Member. Having first joined the Tiber young people steering group when she was at school, Cherise has since joined the board of directors, something she balances with her Accounting and Finance studies at LJMU (Liverpool John Moores University). She’s most proud of being recognised in the L8 community as an acknowledged Female Achiever of the Year at The Black Achievers Awards, Liverpool 2013.
Cherise Smith
Nasser Mashjari
Born in Malah, Yemen and came to Liverpool in 1973. A founding member of the Yemeni Community Association which provides support, services and education to the Yemeni community, and an elected trustee for the Al Rahma Mosque for the last 4 years. Nasser recognised that Toxteth was a diverse and open community, even back then.
Nasser Mashjari