LONDON — The Southbank Centre has unveiled a major new public art installation featuring poetry created by more than 2,300 schoolchildren from London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Called “Gift to the Future,” the project transforms the Southbank Centre’s Brutalist buildings with lines of poetry written by participating school classes. The installation runs from late July until September 27 and is free for visitors.

The project was developed as part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th-anniversary celebrations and was inspired by the 1951 Festival of Britain. Poet Lemn Sissay led the creative programme alongside professional poet-educators, encouraging children to explore their hopes and ideas about the future.

The installation turns children's writing into large-scale public art, giving young people a visible role in one of London's best-known cultural spaces.

More than 40 schools took part, with students exploring visual poetry, creative writing and different ways of presenting language. The resulting collaborative poem contains 93 lines, with each participating class contributing a line.

The project also highlights the growing connection between arts education, public spaces and youth creativity. Instead of keeping children's work inside classrooms, the Southbank Centre has placed their ideas directly into a major cultural venue visited by millions of people.

“Gift to the Future” offers a striking reminder that young voices can become an important part of Britain's contemporary arts landscape, while demonstrating how public art can connect generations through creativity and storytelling.