Arts & Homelessness International Award winners announced
Mike Findlay-Agnew, INSP
- News
Led by UK-based charity Arts & Homelessness International, the Arts & Homelessness International Awards recognise global excellence in the sector of arts and homelessness and celebrate creativity in all its forms.
Announced during a special online event in December 2023, there were six awards categories in total, recognising the outstanding work and achievements of individuals and charities in and beyond the UK. Each winner received a one-of-a-kind award created by Arts & Homelessness International’s co-director and acclaimed artist David Tovey.
The International Network of Street Papers (INSP), as the network organisation for newspapers and magazines sold by people experiencing homelessness internationally, has been a partner for the Awards, alongside other organisations including Amuzn, Invisible People and Media Storm.
Greek INSP member street paper Shedia received a Special Commendation in the Homeless Centre for the Year category for their work supporting marginalised groups and vulnerable individuals.
The award went to No Tan Distines, a social, political and trans-inclusive feminist organisation formed by people with experience of homelessness in Argentina.
Elsewhere, the Creative of the Year award went to Surfing Sofas, a UK-based poet who recently released his first album with the Museum of Homelessness.
The Museum, which also includes an art centres and community garden, won the Co-creation Champions of the Year for staff’s work in producing high-quality artistic events and creating an activist powerhouse that strives for change.
From Colombia, Amor Real won the Arts and Homelessness Project of the Year award. Following the death of the founder’s brother on the streets of Bogota, this project was born to enable people to escape drug gangs and homelessness by learning to craft high quality fashion and embroidery.
The final awards were won by US organisations. In Texas, Dallas Public Library was awarded Cultural Space of the Year. When the current director took up the post, there were several hundred people sleeping rough in the vicinity. The library now runs specific programmes for people experiencing homelessness.
Finally, Katy Rubin, founder of Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, was named Policy Changemaker of the Year. A practitioner, facilitator, activist, educator and change-maker, Rubin uses the methodology of legislative theatre to make real impact in policy through participatory democracy.
Attending the event in December, Mike Findlay-Agnew, Chief Executive of INSP, commented: “The Arts and Homelessness International Awards ceremony was the highlight of my end to 2023. It was great to see so many diverse and innovative projects and people represented in the room. For organisations and individuals who are dealing with some tough issues, there certainly is no shortage of determination and creativity.
“What Arts & Homelessness International have managed to do is bring together a unique global community in celebration of their impact. It has been humbling to hear about these wonderful projects.”
