Prince William has been praised for bringing hope to homeless people through a landmark new art exhibition at a London gallery.
Through the Prince of Wales’s Homewards project – which sets out to end homelessness in the UK – artists from across the country will be partnering up with William to project a “positive, optimistic” view of rough sleepers.
Homewards, launched last year by the Royal Foundation, has partnered up with Chelsea’s Saatchi Gallery to host “Homelessness: Reframed” – which it calls a “ground-breaking exhibition” set to give the public a better understanding of “the stories of those with experience of homelessness”.
The exhibition – slated to run from August 7 to September 20 – has won its fair share of plaudits in the wake of its announcement.
Lorna Tucker, a consultant for the exhibition who has herself experienced homelessness, said: “It gives me hope. We have King Charles and Prince William, who are so socially conscious.
“It’s a Royal Family that really understands the communities they are there to serve, and that for me is the biggest hope.
“The fact he’s supporting this and putting his energy into ending homelessness… that’s never happened before.
“When you’ve got a member of the Royal Family saying: “I’m going to dedicate my life to ending homelessness,’ we’re in a good place.
The exhibition is set to feature “exceptional works” from UK and foreign artists including Dave Martin, David Tovey, Simone Brewster and Surfing Sofas – with Paul Foster, the Saatchi Gallery’s director, urging the public to take a look “with an open mind”.
Foster said: “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.
The exhibition is also being supported by an American private social justice foundation, the Eleven Eleven Foundation, whose CEO Wendy Abrams said the works would amount to an “exercise in empathy” for visitors.
Abrams said: “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.”
As part of a range of charitable endeavours under the Royal Foundation umbrella, Prince William is understood to have tasked his Homewards team with “changing the narrative” about homelessness in a drive to bring light to the “journey” homeless people have been on.
