Last year artist Kathryn Martin discovered a dog-eared black and white photograph amongst some old paperwork in the basement of The Hillcrest Community Centre, an immensely joyful image of the 1952 Easter Sunday Skip. Frozen mid-jump by the photographer are a group of skipping adults with beaming smiles and free of inhibitions. This image felt particularly poignant at the time it was found, as we were just emerging from the pandemic, having been cooped up in our homes with little room for spontaneity in our lives; a complete contrast to the emotion of this picture. This was the spark for Newtopias.

The festival theme for Photo Fringe's 2022 edition is Real Utopias, a call to action for exhibitors and audiences to explore how photography can help us imagine a brighter, greener, fairer world. Real utopias exist on the periphery of the mainstream, demonstrating what could be possible. They take the here and now as a starting point for dreaming and visualising a better future.

The Newtopias project asked 'How can we give shape and colour to our hopes and dreams?' Through a series of photomontage workshops this summer at the Hillcrest Centre and Newhaven Youth Centre, participants collaged together photographic material from the Newhaven Museum archive, personal photographs and found images to reimagine life in Newhaven and beyond, connecting the past, present and potential futures of the town and its community.

44 Newhaven residents of all ages took part in workshops this summer for Newtopias.

There are two online exhibitions each featuring 22 collages.