Abstract

Melanie, March 2020 was included in the Hold Still community exhibition, a nationwide outdoor display of the 100 photographs selected for the Hold Still project, spearheaded by the then Duchess of Cambridge in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery and Co-op UK. Running from 20 October to 8 November 2020, the exhibition displayed the portraits on 400 billboards and poster sites across more than 80 towns, cities and communities throughout the UK, including bus stops, high streets, outside Waterloo station in London, and on community screens in 1,600 Co-op food stores. Churchill's image of Melanie featured heavily on billboards across the London Underground and beyond. The online Hold Still exhibition accumulated over 5.2 million page views.

One of the largest community photography exhibitions ever staged in the UK, reaching audiences across more than 80 towns and cities simultaneously. The scale and reach of the exhibition extended Churchill's work far beyond gallery contexts to everyday public spaces, placing Melanie, March 2020 in front of mass audiences at a moment of profound national significance. The exhibition formed the foundation for the subsequent Hold Still book publication, which became a Sunday Times bestseller, the image entered the National Portrait Gallery's permanent collection.