Introduction

This introductory chapter makes the case for how socially committed arts, performance, heritage, memorialising, and creative practices can intervene in the lives of people affected by homelessness. Outlining a backdrop of escalating homelessness in England, driven by structural factors such as austerity, lack of social housing, and welfare cuts, it argues that homelessness is not only a material condition but also a social, relational, and embodied one. It sets out the numerous ways that those experiencing homelessness are figured, treated, and represented in society in ways that perpetuate stigma, exclusion, and dehumanisation. It then considers how individual artists, cultural organisations, and participation in arts-based projects can enable people affected by homelessness to engage with their creative selves and tell their stories in ways that challenge reductive narratives, foster agency, and offer alternative cultural imaginaries of the homeless experience. The chapter concludes with an overview of the research methodologies driving the book and its structure.