Raven Row exhibition revisits BBC's 1970s community programming with Open Door archive

People Make Television at Raven Row in London presents archival footage from the BBC's Community Programming Unit, focusing on the Open Door series that aired from 1973 to 1983. The exhibition features over 50 hours of programming displayed on CRT monitors, showcasing content from diverse groups including the Transex Liberation Group, whose June 4, 1973 episode addressed trans recognition. Other contributors included environmentalist designers, black teachers criticizing educational bias, Central London neighborhoods fighting property developers, the Work and Leisure Society, and the anarchist Albion Free State collective. The BBC imposed editorial rules prohibiting political party promotion, industrial disputes, racial incitement, or violent action. Stuart Hall led the Campaign Against Racism in the Media's 1979 analysis of BBC racial bias, while the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom critiqued the broadcaster's stance during Margaret Thatcher's union conflicts in 1983. Open Door ended on March 30, 1983, months before Thatcher's reelection. The exhibition runs through March 26, highlighting how marginal 1970s views have become mainstream today.