Prince William to change perception of homelessness through creative new move

The Prince of Wales's homelessness programme, Homewards, will host an art exhibition this summer to utilise the power of art in order to help improve the nation’s understanding of homelessness and inspire optimism that it can be ended.

Prince William has set his sights on making rough sleeping, sofa surfing and other forms of temporary accommodation a thing of the past with his ambitious initiative.

Homewards is a five-year project launched by William in 2023 to bring together a range of individuals and organisations to develop bespoke homelessness solutions in Newport, South Wales, three neighbouring Dorset towns, Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch, the south London Borough of Lambeth, as well as the cities of Belfast, Aberdeen and Sheffield.

Now the programme announced its collaboration with Saatchi Gallery and Eleven Eleven Foundation which will see the art exhibition titled Homelessness: Reframed "bring to life the breadth and complexities of homelessness across the country" and allowing the public to "engage with, and better understand, the stories of those with experience of homelessness."

The exhibition will display exceptional works from artists in the UK and beyond, sharing pieces inspired by their own or others' experiences of homelessness, and will include pieces created by children and young people at a series of creative workshops held across the six flagship Homewards locations.

It will involve artists like Dave Martin, David Tovey, Marc Davenant, Opake, Rankin, Robi Walters, Sam D’Cruze, Simone Brewster, and Surfing Sofas as well as artists from the six Homewards locations.

Amanda Berry, Chief Executive Officer at the Royal Foundation said: "People need to believe in change for it to happen. Homelessness can feel like it is hard to prevent, but by building an understanding of the realities of how it impacts so many we can learn what needs to be done to end it. The exhibition underlines Homewards and The Royal Foundation’s dedication to challenging the long-held perceptions around homelessness."

It comes as the Prince of Wales eis set to feature in a new documentary series about his homelessness programme.

The two-part series, which has the working title Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, will go behind the scenes of the first year of the programme.

It will follow William as he launches Homewards across the country, and will feature the journeys of those currently facing homelessness or who have lived experience of the issue.

The documentary will also feature well-known advocates of the programme, alongside those leading individual projects across the UK.

The series will be shown on ITV1 and ITVX this autumn.

The art exhibition Homelessness: Reframed will open at Saatchi Gallery on Wednesday, August 7 and run for six weeks until Friday, September 20.