The Lightbox Exhibitions with Champs Within

© Chelsea Pineda

We are happy to announce the second exhibition in The Lightbox series, running from January to July 2025. This exciting showcase will feature Champs Within alongside the work of photographer Chelsea Pineda. In partnership with Lambeth Council, we continue to curate and deliver The Lightbox Exhibitions, bringing a vibrant atmosphere and celebrating artistic expression through photography that inspires, provokes thought, and sparks meaningful conversations.

‘Photofusion is delighted to be partnering with local Brixton charity, Champs Within, and Photographer and Director Chelsea Pineda, for the second lightbox exhibition, and the first one in 2025. Given the location of the Lightboxes, marking the entrance to the recreation centre, it felt important to continue to represent sport, and regular people doing extraordinary things through sporting activity. The dual- portrait approach used by Chelsea gives a real insight into fighter's everyday lives that we can all relate to, and then the totally different dimension of them as powerful sportswomen. It was particularly important to Photofusion to be showcasing women in this sport as boxing can still be viewed by some as a very masculine environment.’ - Jenni Grainger, Director of Photofusion.

The photographs displayed present a striking portrait of fighters from Brixton-based boxing group Champs Within, captured through the lens of Filipina-American artist Chelsea Pineda. A photographer, filmmaker, and writer, Pineda has trained with Champs Within for over three years and as the gym’s official fight night photographer and facilitator, her work offers an authentic, insider’s perspective that encapsulates the vibrant Champs Within community.

Previously exhibited at Brixton Library as part of The Champions Within: Portraits of a Boxing Community, this series explores the dualities of Champs Within boxers and showcases a nuanced view of their lives both inside and outside the gym. Each subject is depicted both in their Champs Within boxing gear, embodying their tenacious fighter persona, and in their personal, everyday lives. Through these contrasts, the photographs reveal both the physical and emotional resilience of the boxers, as well as the community that underpins their journeys.

At the heart of Champs Within is the mission to empower individuals through boxing. Fostering empowerment, self-expression and mental well-being. They provide a safe and inclusive space for individuals of all ages, helping them develop resilience, discipline, confidence and community.

The photographs on display celebrate the transformative impact boxing has on the community and the integral role Champs Within plays.

For further information on Champs Within, visit their website: https://www.champswithin.com

NOTE: The Lightbox exhibitions are a collaboration between Lambeth Council and Photofusion. The installation of the lightboxes has been funded by the Revitalising Brixton’s Rec Quarter project, which has invested in creating new workspace in the Rec, renovating the Rec’s existing shop units with lit signage and double-glazed shopfronts, and revitalising the public facing areas of the Rec and concourse with new lighting and the restoration of original signage. The Revitalising Brixton’s Rec Quarter project received £2.17m from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund which was matched by Lambeth Council and Stride. The ongoing management of Lightbox exhibitions has been funded for two years by the project, Active Lambeth and Photofusion from March 2024 – March 2026.