In collaboration with Aliaskar Abarkas, LUX is delighted to mark the 50th anniversary of ‘Nightcleaners (Part 1)’ (1975) with a special online exhibition from 3 to 17 November 2025. Created by the Berwick Street Collective (Marc Karlin, Mary Kelly, James Scott and Humphry Trevelyan), the film remains a landmark of 1970s political cinema.

Intended as a campaign film about women office cleaners fighting for fair pay and union rights, ‘Nightcleaners’ evolved into a deeply reflexive work. The film questions how struggles for visibility and justice could be represented, and how both filmmakers and audiences are implicated in those struggles. Fifty years on, the film continues to resonate with urgent questions around precarious labour, collective action and solidarity.

This online exhibition has been developed in dialogue with artist Aliaskar Abarkas, who invited LUX to revisit ‘Nightcleaners’. This invitation led to a development of his new initiative ‘Speak Louder’, a working group at LUX bringing together artists, cultural workers and creatives to reflect on the material and emotional conditions of artistic labour today.

Abarkas will facilitate the working group from November 2025 to May 2026 as part of his Collection Engagement Residency at LUX. The group will meet regularly and culminate in a public sharing in spring 2026.

The open call for ‘Speak Louder’ will remain live throughout the online exhibition period (3-17 November). Learn more about the open call and apply here.

Register here to access the online exhibition from 3-17 November 2025