Construct by Anthony Luvera, Long Table Discussion

GRAIN Projects

An afternoon of discussion with Anthony Luvera, SIFA Fireside, Museum of Homelessness, Mayday Trust, Shelter, and Birmingham City Council.

St Philips Chambers

10th October 2022, World Homelessness Day, 2.00 - 6.00pm, St. Philips Chambers, Birmingham, B2 5LSWe warmly invite you to join us for an afternoon of discussion with Anthony Luvera and speakers from the homelessness sector, including representatives from SIFA Fireside, Museum of Homelessness, Mayday Trust, Shelter, and Birmingham City Council.The event will also include an exhibition tour and performance by The Choir With No Name.Birmingham, the second city of the United Kingdom, like many of our cities, is facing a major housing and homelessness crisis. Homelessness has a destructive and overwhelming impact on people’s lives and is experienced by thousands every day.People experiencing homelessness face many challenges and issues, including accessing healthcare services, long waiting times for support and advice, prejudices of stigma and lack of awareness, and inadequate temporary accommodation.Shelter's new report reveals 253,000 people in England were homeless and living in temporary accommodation during the pandemic – the highest figure for 14 years.  In 2020, homeless deaths increased by 20% in England and Wales, with life expectancy far lower than average (for example, the age of male mortality is in the mid-40s).  The number of people experiencing homelessness is higher than official figures, as many people will be undocumented by councils because they are sleeping rough (and thus may be mobile and missed by such counts), sofa-surfing, or cannot make themselves known due to concerns for their safety, security, or immigration status.  Thousands are stuck in unstable and often unsuitable temporary accommodation, including emergency B&Bs, which has increased by a staggering 371% over the last ten years. There has been a significant response from communities, charities, and the voluntary sector to this emergency. In Birmingham, the Fair Housing Campaign created a ‘People’s Manifesto for Fair Housing’, providing a call to action, as well as a vision for change and campaigning for agencies to work together to combat the crisis in our city.CONSTRUCT is a new body of work by socially engaged artist Anthony Luvera, created between 2018 and 2022 in collaboration with people who have experienced homelessness in Birmingham. Over four years, Luvera has been embedded within the support services of SIFA Fireside, Birmingham’s main day centre for homeless and vulnerably housed adults. The artist began by working in the kitchen, preparing and serving meals, before inviting participants to explore photography through regular meetings and workshops. Over 50 people took part, using disposable cameras to document their experiences and camera phones to share images, continuing throughout the lockdowns and COVID-19 pandemic via online platforms, post, telephone, and email.Participants were also invited to make a self-portrait for the artist’s ongoing series, Assisted Self-Portraits. To create an Assisted Self-Portrait, Luvera meets each participant in locations that are important to them, to teach the individual how to use digital medium format camera equipment with a tripod, handheld flash, cable shutter release, and laptop. The final portrait is selected by the participant.There are 21 new Assisted Self-Portraits on display in Snow Hill Square and a selection of photographs by participants shown in Snow Hill Station.

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