Changing minds: challenging stereotypes between art and homelessness.

Hackett, Charlie

Abstract

This article provides an analysis of a socially-engaged arts project that took place over a nine-month period, between two quite different groups of people: art students who facilitated the project and homeless men who participated. Four art students volunteered to work on the project, accessing a drop-in group that supports people who are homeless. I consider that the arts-based methods used within socially-engaged practice changes the students' perceptions of homelessness. Analogue photography and collaborative arts projects become a methodology for dialogical and creative engagement. The research is reflexive, with the art students and a couple of the homeless men being interviewed at the end of the project. From these reflections, we gain an insight into how the creative methods change the students' stereotypical perceptions of homelessness. The surprising effect of agency that comes about through objects - such as tables and cameras, the processes, artwork, and an exhibition - has the power to change the relationship between the homeless men and art students. The research recognizes the relationship between volunteering and empathy, and wanting to change homeless people's lives for the better.

Citation

HACKETT, C. 2020. Changing minds: challenging stereotypes between art and homelessness. International journal of social, political and community agendas in the arts [online], 15(3), pages 27-43. Available from: https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v15i03/27-43

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 28, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Sep 28, 2020
• Publication Date: Sep 30, 2020
• Deposit Date: Nov 28, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 28, 2022
• Journal: International journal of social, political and community agendas in the arts
• Print ISSN: 2326-9960
• Electronic ISSN: 2327-2104
• Publisher: Common Ground Research Networks
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 27-43
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/2326-9960/CGP/v15i03/27-43
• Keywords: Homelessness; Marginalised communities; Stereotypes; Art and society; Experiential learning
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1822616