Blog & insights

Why this matters to us

Homelessness isn't a cause we picked off a list. Before Urban Art Store, I spent twenty years working in Norwich City Council's homelessness department. I took part in the city's night counts and heard stories that stay with you long after the shift ends.

That experience has shaped how we run the gallery. Members of our team ran the London Marathon for Shelter and raised around £5,000. We have sold Banksy-branded Tesco Bags for Life in support of St Martin's Housing Trust, Norwich's leading provider of housing and support for people experiencing homelessness. Our most recent art project raised around £6,000 for homeless charities.

Earlier this year we also sat down with Norwich painter Devin Smith, who paints people experiencing homelessness as collaborators rather than subjects. You can read that conversation, Give voice to homeless one portrait at a time, on our blog. It captured exactly what we believe art can do.

Why a Community Interest Company

When people buy a print or a raffle ticket for a good cause, they deserve to know exactly where their money goes. Setting up Seen Through Art as a CIC is how we make that promise official.

A CIC is a company that exists for the benefit of the community, not for private profit. Seen Through Art's directors are unpaid, and the company carries an asset lock, which legally protects what it raises for its community purpose. We will also publish an annual fundraising report, so anyone can see what came in, which charities received it and what it paid for.

In short, it moves our charity work from good intentions to something transparent and accountable.

What Seen Through Art will do

Seen Through Art will raise money for homeless charities in Norfolk and help more people understand the realities of homelessness. Its work falls into a few strands:

• Selling art for good. Artwork sold through the project raises money that goes directly to homeless charities.

• Art actions and artist collaborations. We will work with artists on projects that raise awareness of homelessness and the people living through it.

• Events for other causes. Alongside our own fundraising, we will organise events that raise money for other charities.

• Grants for art students. We plan to support art students whose work helps people experiencing homelessness.

• Working with local authorities. We will work alongside councils and services that support homeless people across the county.

Our next project is already in the works: an awareness campaign about people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, in partnership with a well-known artist. Watch this space.

Why "Seen Through Art"

People experiencing homelessness are too often looked through rather than looked at. The name is a quiet answer to that.

Art has a way of making people stop and pay attention. A portrait, a mural or a print can put a face and a story where there was only a doorway or a statistic. Seen Through Art is about using that power deliberately, so the people behind the headlines are noticed, heard and supported.

How you can get involved

Whether you collect art, make it or simply care about your community, there is a place for you in Seen Through Art.

Buy a piece from our shop and look out for works sold in support of the project. If you're an artist who wants to collaborate, a charity or service working with homeless people in Norfolk, or a business that would like to partner with us, get in touch at lee@urbanartstore.co.uk or through our contact page. And sign up to our newsletter on urbanartstore.co.ukto follow the project as it grows.

Together, we can make sure fewer people go unseen.