I'm Not Okay (an Emo Retrospective)

A Museum of Youth Culture exhibition held in Barbican Music Library

'I'm Not Okay' is a pilot exhibition exploring the rise of Britain’s Y2K lost subculture: Emo. Focusing on the first-generation Emo scene from 2004 to 2009, the exhibition highlights a pivotal era when bands like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and Finch sparked a transatlantic exchange, fuelling a distinct UK movement led by acts such as Funeral for a Friend. The ethos of emo resonated deeply with a generation, channeling collective teenage melancholy into a transatlantic subculture that thrived in cyberspace just as well as in the basement venues of grotty pubs. With one foot IRL and the other in MySpace, Emo wasn’t just a scene — it was the only way of living, the only way we could envision our futures.

The exhibition examines how this scene intertwined with internet fame and drama, with teens expressing their angst through confessional lyrics, tight jeans, and dyed black hair. 'I'm Not Okay' delves into how Emo became a positive force for acceptance, addressing issues of sexuality, mental health, gender, identity, and belonging. It was one of the first subcultures to bridge the physical and digital worlds, laying the groundwork for today’s digital youth quake led by TikTok and Instagram. Featuring personal photos snapped on early digital and mid-00s phone cameras, content for this exhibition has been digitally unearthed by the Museum of Youth Culture from old hard drives and Photobucket accounts. 'I'm Not Okay' offers an unfiltered look at a moment when youth culture was cute, raw, vulnerable, and unapologetically different, and is situated at the heart of the Emo scene whilst touching on concurrent movements like Scene, Indie Electro, Pop Punk, and Screamo.

Please note the exhibition is open during library opening hours only - and will be closed on bank holidays and Christmas eve. 

Please note this exhibition tends to get very busy on Saturdays from lunch time onwards, and that we close on Saturdays at 4pm. If you would like to attend at a quieter time, we recommend coming in on a Saturday morning, or visit during the week.