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Faces of Cambridge: Giving the homeless a voice – JOIN OUR COMMITTEE!

We’re looking to expand the project this term and we need you


This series of articles seeks to break the bubble of ignorance surrounding homelessness and encourage people to reconsider how they think about and behave towards the homeless. We want to transform people’s perception of the homeless into individuals with their own pasts, hopes and dreams, defined by more than their situation.

This term, we are collaborating with an American artist called Willie Baronet who directs a project called WE ARE ALL HOMELESS, and a Cambridge-based curator and art historian, Cinthia Willaman.

We are working towards an exhibition in the summer, potentially during May Week, based around the theme of humanising and amplifying homeless voices. There will be work from Willie, Cambridge students and some of the homeless individuals themselves who we've been working with, many of whom have backgrounds in art, photography and writing.

Alongside the work for the exhibition, we are going to continue interviewing individuals and getting their stories heard. We also would like to set up coffee mornings or regular meet-ups for students to engage with and get to know the homeless community in Cambridge.

We are looking for people who want to get involved in the arty/creative side of the project, and those who want to be involved in the activism side of things, speaking to and engaging with homeless individuals – or perhaps both, ideally!

It will be fairly low commitment, and we are hoping to have the exhibition planned and set in motion by the end of the Easter holidays, so that there will be less to do during exam term. First year History and English prelimmers would be ideal candidates given that Easter term will be a quiet one after prelim exams are over.

If you think you'd be interested in joining the committee, please send an email to [email protected] explaining why you want to get involved in the project and any ideas you have. Applications will be responded to on a rolling basis so please be prompt with your applications!

Shannon Rawlins is Deputy Editor of the Tab Cambridge.