World at War was a group exhibition funded by Arts Council England that explored the concept of war beyond the battlefield and into everyday life. Curated for The Waiting Room at Peckham Rye Station, the exhibition brought together artists whose work reflected on conflict as it appears in personal experience, social structures, memory, politics, and daily survival.

The exhibition invited audiences to consider how war is not only something that happens in distant places or in history books, but something that can be felt in communities, in identity, in migration, in inequality, and in the quiet struggles people carry. Through painting, photography, mixed media, and installation, artists responded to the idea of conflict as both visible and invisible, public and deeply personal.

World at War continued a curatorial journey that consistently created space for artists to respond to urgent social realities. Building on previous exhibitions such as Journal Black and Open Journal, the exhibition demonstrated how art can document lived experience and create meaningful dialogue within the community.

Alongside the exhibition, programming included a private viewing, a launch event with live performance, and opportunities for wider engagement with both the art industry and the local community. An open call followed to extend participation once the exhibition was established.

World at War positioned art as a tool for reflection, conversation, and understanding, offering audiences a space to consider how the idea of war shapes lives in ways that are often unseen but deeply felt.