One Festival of Homeless Arts

Written by: Yasmine Toure

One night, I was laying in my bed and started thinking about how Arts helped the homeless. Arts is a field that have been used for centuries to denounce social injustices. Indeed, artists used their poems, songs and paintings to denounce wars, slavery, or hunger. However, I had never seen anything that approaches the homeless situation.

I decided to make my research about contemporary Arts that denounce the homeless situation in the world. I found the “One Festival of Homeless Arts.” This festival was created by David Tovey, a British artist, but also a former homeless. The festival happens once every year in different of Great Britain. Unfortunately, it has been canceled this year because the creator suffers from PTSD and had to take care of its mental health.

David Tovey has been homeless for a long period of time. Despite his situation, he was still painting and wanted to achieve his dream to be a reputed artist. Even though he found a better situation, he never forgot his past and decided to give hope to people who still can’t get a house and a stable financial situation. Thus, he created the One Festival of Homeless Arts.

The One Festival of Homeless Arts reunite both homeless and artists that have been homeless. The artists share their work and experiences with others. The artists and homeless talk together about the frustration behind being homeless, but more importantly, the artists share the path that they had to take to change their situation. The festival has been created to give hope to homeless. Thank to this festival, the homeless in Great Britain know that there is still a chance for them to have a better future.

The festival website is: https://onefestivalofhomelessarts.com/ . In the website, you can find more information and pictures of the festival.