12 venues, hundreds of visitors, great feedback and now a spin-off… it’s fair to say the Dreams & Realities tour was a success!
“It’s been an amazing experience” says artist Stephen Martin.
“I met some really interesting people and I was moved by people’s stories about their experiences of living and dealing with poverty and everyday challenges. People’s reactions to my portraits have been positive and enthusiastic.”
Nationwide tour
Stephen painted portraits of himself and nine other people living in distress in Sheffield. Each portrait showed a person’s reality, plus the dreams they would have fulfilled if poverty had not held them back.
All people are linked to choirs at St Mary’s Church in Sheffield and the project is linked to the support of Yo Tozer-Loft, community choirmaster, Church Action on Poverty.
The paintings were exhibited at St Mary’s, then toured the country, reaching:
- Newcastle
- Stoke
- York
- Camden
- Leeds
- Halifax
- Manchester
- Barking & Dagenham
- Portsmouth
- Fix it
- Green Belt Festival
A deeply moving exhibition
Stephen says: “Every time I visited and saw the paintings again, I had a strange feeling – it was like meeting old friends again! And there were really positive reactions.
“The events in Camden and Halifax were particularly amazing because other people were sharing stories of hardship. They talked about their situations and problems; has been very active. In Halifax, I’m working on a work-in-progress right now, five paintings of people there.”
Yo: I feel blessed to have played a role
Yo says that this is what he wanted to do when he had the idea for the project:
- raise money to keep the community choir going
- highlight the shocking realities of everyday poverty in Britain ahead of the election
- honoring singers living on the frontlines of poverty by asking them to pose for their portraits (as the rich do) and portraying their dreams and realities
- Accept Stephen’s kind offer to take the portraits.
By the summer of 2023, he was already approaching and interviewing singers, then he heard Gordon Brown speak about the new #letsendpoverty movement at the 2023 Greenbelt Festival.
Yo says: “God was at work! (I had already unexpectedly bumped into Michelle, who I wanted to invite to the project but had lost touch with – Greenbelt was the last place I expected to find her!)
“Pete from #letsendpoverty has done a truly incredible and energetic job finding exhibition venues across the UK throughout the year and organizing the launch event at each location.
“The events were an excellent forum for meeting and discussion among people affected by poverty, as well as community leaders and choirs.
“I have been delighted by the reception and response to the touring exhibition as it brings communities together for political, informative, solution-seeking and sometimes edgy discussions. How can we end poverty in the UK? End the limit of 2 child allowances? Fully Funded Sure Start Refund? Introduce Universal Basic Income? We must contact our MPs…
“My late mother, Iris, would have been very disappointed to see her story still being lived – a path to education and opportunity that prevented poverty. Seeing the exhibition in Dagenham, where he grew up, meant a lot to me. He achieved a lot, but still spoke of the opportunities he lost in his old age.
“Highlights of the exhibition were the media coverage, great speakers, music and crowd-pleasing openings from Newcastle, Camden and Portsmouth, apart from seeing the paintings at Greenbelt where the project was ‘blessed’ last year!
“I feel blessed to be involved in this project, raising the profile of my friends and family who are still living in poverty in the UK. As the fifth richest country in the world, we can do better!
“Seeing the exhibition and discussions go so far has been like watching my baby grow up, leave home and do something really special and far from me!
“A big thank you to all your hard work at Chils Action on Poverty, especially Pete Duberly, who ignited the #letsendpoverty movement with his paintings and energy around the topic.
“Stephen Martin excelled as an artist, working really generously with me to refine the likenesses and compositions. The biggest thanks to all the generous singers who gave their faces, stories, dreams and realities to the project.”
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