Unseen Tour (London)

Record back to August 2010

Reported by the Big Issue magazine, an informal volunteer network in London organized a tour, called ‘Unseen Tours’, They built up a close relationship with the street people in central London, who they met through regular weekly walk. and they coach homeless people they work with to be tour guides. They do this by teasing out their creativity and resourcefulness, and helping to nurture their confidence.

I brought a ticket online through their webpage on the same day and then about 25 people gather outside the underground station in the evening. We walked around Storeditch area from Old Street Station and the other tour around London Bridge area. In the tour, we went through some landmarks, some local attractions, some parks, cemetery, churchyards and squatted houses. We look at some graffitis, art pieces commissioned by council and underground art studio and exhibition space, etc. 

refer http://www.sockmobevents.org.uk/unseen-tours

A former homeless man, now a photographer (London)

Start interviewing some of the guests use the soup kitchen regularly. One of the guest in the soup kitchen is formerly squatting in the 1980s to year 2000. He started his homeless life back in the 80s after divorce. He is now 70 years old and living in a flat offered by the council. He share with me one of the art work he drew.

Then he told me he has an art exhibition in that evening, I was excited, from an ordinary homeless man who come for food-aid, he  suddenly became one of the artist in town. 

I went to that exhibition at last, and I found out that it was actually an exhibition of the Seymour Art, which was formed at the West London Day Centre and its members meet there weekly at a course run by the City of Westminister College.

The exhibition was held in the Subway Gallery, which is a kiosk in the subway leading to Edgware Road Underground Station. The Gallery in the subway was drawing people into the deadly quiet subway under the busy road.

I felt grateful for them having a focus in art in their daily life. As told by the elderly man, by attending these art courses, he developed not only a new skill but also friendship with other students and a healthy and stable daily life style.