The One Festival of Homeless Arts
Join us at Old Diorama Arts Centre on Sat 28th Jan at 3pm for the final exhibition of One Fest 2023.
See all the amazing work that has been created: from mask work to portraits to wire sculpting to mudlark mosaics; plus a last chance to attend a workshop; and live presentations from artists with lived experience of homelessness.
All are welcome.
The One Festival of Homeless Arts has long been a fixture at Old Diorama Arts Centre much like its founder and former curator, David Tovey, first with us in 2015 then as Artist In Residence in 2016.
David was motivated by the art and connection of a delegation of homeless artists in Brazil. A single musician playing on the streets of São Paulo inspired a miniature festival of homeless performers to join together to create a community, to which David responded “why the f**k aren’t we doing that here then??”
Since its conception in Camden in 2016, One Fest historically comprises an event launch at Old Diorama Arts Centre on World Homeless Day (10th October), followed by a month-long exhibition of artwork created by people with lived experience of homelessness.
This art was predominantly sourced from local shelters, but some from as far afield as Nashville and Tokyo, further establishing One Fest as the only event of its kind in the world. There are then additional events across the UK, further celebrating homeless artists under the One Fest banner.
This year, we’re doing things a little differently…
On 10th October 2022, we invited members of the local community, users of ODAC, friends, passers-by, and charities dealing with homelessness to a drop-in session in the ODAC Foyer, where we canvassed opinion on how we could best serve the One Fest demographic this time round.
We found that - post-pandemic - the key requirement of artists of No Fixed Abode/precariously sheltered/experiencing homelessness is appropriate and welcoming spaces in which to create work, in a supportive community environment.
On this basis, we decided to adjust our format. Our next One Festival takes place between 16th and 27th January 2023, and features workshops spanning a broad range of disciplines. The first week includes the following workshops: wire sculpture (hosted by street artist Daren the Wire Guy); Mudlark Mosaics; Mask Masking; Fashion Sculpture; Spray Painting; Large Scale Portraiture; Photo and Printing Workshops; and more.
Our overall aim is to provide work space for artists who want to do independent work, along with stimulus and varied experiences. We hope that by bringing together different art forms and different aspects of the artistic and homeless communities, we will be encouraging and facilitating collaboration, mutual support, and the controlled exchange of creative ideas.
