Prince William’s Homewards Programme to Change Perceptions of Homelessness through Art

(Image credit: The Royal Foundation)

Prince William’s Homewards programme has today announced a ground-breaking exhibition which will utilise the power of art to help improve the nation’s understanding of homelessness and inspire optimism that it can be ended.

Saatchi Gallery in collaboration with the Homewards programme and Eleven Eleven Foundation will this summer host ‘Homelessness: Reframed’, an art exhibition bringing to life the breadth and complexities of homelessness across the country and giving the public an opportunity to engage with, and better understand, the stories of those with experience of homelessness.

The exhibition will display exceptional works from artists in the UK and beyond, sharing pieces inspired by their own or others experiences of homelessness, and will include pieces created by children and young people at a series of creative workshops held across the six flagship Homewards locations.

Artists involved include:

• Dave Martin
• David Tovey
• Marc Davenant
• Opake
• Rankin
• Robi Walters
• Sam D’Cruze
• Simone Brewster
• Surfing Sofas
• as well as artists from the six Homewards locations.

Amanda Berry OBE, Chief Executive Officer, The Royal Foundation said: “People need to believe in change for it to happen. Homelessness can feel like it is hard to prevent, but by building understanding of the realities of how it impacts so many we can learn what needs to be done to end it. The exhibition underlines Homewards and The Royal Foundation’s dedication to challenging the long-held perceptions around homelessness. By giving a platform to those with lived experience, we hope to start to shift the narrative and demonstrate that homelessness is not an inevitable part of society. Sincere thanks to our partners, Saatchi Gallery and Eleven Eleven Foundation, for their invaluable support.”

Paul Foster, Saatchi Gallery Director says: “Art has the ability to open our eyes to issues. Works by artists with lived experience, and by workshop participants with no art background, remind us that creativity is not dependent on any status in society and that art offers a means for us to understand the challenges facing so many fellow citizens. We’d encourage visitors to approach this exhibition with an open mind and to question any assumptions they might have about those experiencing ‘homelessness”.

Wendy Abrams, CEO, Eleven Eleven Foundation says: “Homelessness is a heart wrenching, and complicated problem. Art has the power to make you think, this exhibit was put together to do just that. The exhibition is intended to be an ‘exercise in empathy’, allowing visitors to see things they didn’t see before, or to see them through a different lens.”

This special exhibition has been created through a partnership between Homewards, Eleven Eleven Foundation and Saatchi Gallery, under the guidance of creative experts with lived experience of homelessness: writer/director Lorna Tucker and award-winning social justice artist and educator David Tovey.

Launched by Prince William last year, Homewards is a five-year programme with the aim of delivering and demonstrating innovative solutions that prevent and end homelessness, creating tried and tested models that can be scaled. Alongside delivering tangible impact in each of its locations, another central aim of Homewards is to improve understanding of and boost optimism around the issue of homelessness.

‘Homelessness: Reframed’ will open at Saatchi Gallery on Wednesday 7th August and run for six weeks until Friday 20th September.