Badge reading 'Exodus Peace Steward'
Photo: Exodus / Patrick Young

Exodus Collective

Luton’s original party people

Ongoing

Is this for me?

Is this for me?

For anyone interested in the River Lea and the heritage of activism and music subcultures

Info

Organisers of free parties in the early 1990s, the Exodus Collective are Luton’s original party people. They went on to to become involved in housing, social exclusion and community projects, and played a pivotal role in the dispersion of local riots in 1995.

Formed out of the need for non-commercial collective action, they provided places for people to be together as one, celebrating life and freedom. These stories tell the history of the Exodus Collective, through parties, collective living and community activities at Marsh House.

For anyone interested in the River Lea and the heritage of activism and music subcultures

Glenn Jenkins

Community organiser Glenn Jenkins talks about Bob Marley’s One Love, Exodus Collective’s free parties, the River Lea’s mystical beginnings and the fight to save Marsh House community centre.

Fahim Qureshi 

Arts producer Fahim Qureshi remembers dragonflies on the River Lea, jazz-funk discos at Marsh House, a legendary punk gig in the late 70s, and the DIY anti-racism activism of Luton Youth Movement.

Nick Cobbing

Photographer Nick Cobbing on his work with Luton’s Exodus Collective in the 1990s: convoys, free raves, social action, community power, sound systems and coming together to fight the Criminal Justice Act.

Lorinda Chambers

Lorinda Chambers talks about Marsh Farm Outreach and community organising, social solidarity, the freedom to dance, the indomitable spirit of Exodus Collective, and fishing for sticklebacks in the River Lea

Paul Jolly & Linda Farrell (Muddie)

Paul Jolly and Linda ‘Muddie’ Farrell talk about Marsh House’s anarchic adventure playground, Muddie’s ‘baptism’ in the River Lea, inflatable corpses, mad hatters and Luton’s thriving grassroots creative scene between the 1970s and the 1990s.

Credits/supporters

 

Undercurrent Research phase was made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.

Undercurrent is a Revoluton Arts project in partnership with Marsh Farm Outreach, supported by Arts Council England and Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Connected:

Telling the radical history of the River Lea, the Undercurrent Digital Archive contains stories of collective action, play and liberation along the river from Luton to East London. From neolithic beginnings to punk gigs and rave collectives, the River Lea has been a constant source of buoyancy for Luton and beyond. The journey of Undercurrent…

Undercurrent Digital Archive

Using music as a call to action, these are stories of how punk, reggae and rave subcultures kick-started activism and protest. At either end of the river, there’s a long history of artists making political statements through music, including how a famous punk gig fired up the Luton anti-racism movement.

Music Subcultures

A collection of stories about activism, play and travel along the River Lea. Home to both people and nature, the river possesses an undeniable spiritual significance. These stories reflect on the relationship between people, industry and the river throughout history from the neolithic settlement at the source to those caring for the ecology for future…

River Lea