Radio Ballads: Songs for Change

‘Radio Ballads: Songs for Change’ revisits the spirit of the revolutionary BBC series (1957–64) that amplified the voices of workers and underrepresented communities through song and storytelling. Over sixty years later, Serpentine Civic Projects commissioned four new Radio Ballads (2019–23) by artists Sonia Boyce, Helen Cammock, Rory Pilgrim, and Ilona Sagar, working with carers, social workers, and residents in Barking and Dagenham. This publication weaves their complex stories of care, grief, and resilience through eight collaborative songs, exploring how creative collaboration can foster interdependence, healing, and collective action. It asks: what collective songs are needed for today’s crises?