Heritage Lottery Fund awards £50,000 for Squatlife project

St Albans Arts Team has received £50,600 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for an exciting project. Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the Squatlife project will highlight historical and contemporary responses to homelessness and give an insight into this previously under-researched aspect of local history.

Inspired originally by Dave Kotula’s photographs of squatted premises in St Albans in the 1980’s, Squatlife has been developed by the team, on behalf of St Albans City and District Council.

This community arts and heritage project will culminate in the first community-focused exhibition to be shown at the new St Albans Museum and Gallery which opens this summer.

The project will feature an exhibition of Dave’s photographs of local squats and the stories of those that used them. With the support of volunteers the exhibition will be contrasted with a view of Victorian (and pre-Victorian) workhouses and historical attitudes to homelessness. Acclaimed Theatre Company Cardboard Citizens will work with homeless or recently homeless residents from the district to create a piece to be performed at the Abbey Theatre whilst a professional photographer will work with attenders of Herts Young Homeless to capture snapshots of their lives.

The project will give participants who have experienced homelessness or have no fixed abode the opportunity to share their experiences and to receive accredited training along the way. The team will be working with Centre 33, Open Door, Emmaus, Herts Young Homeless and Hightown Housing Association in the delivery of the programme.

The project will engage young people in the curation process as well as working with volunteers from St Albans & Hertfordshire Archaeological & Architectural Society and heritage professionals from St Albans Museum Service. Historically St Albans Abbey has played a notable role in caring for and supporting the poor and homeless of the district. Benedictine Monks were instructed to “relieve the poor, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, to bury the dead, to help the afflicted and to console the sorrowing.”

The Arts Team are keen to hear from anyone with experience of squatting or homelessness that would like to share their experience. Anyone interested should mail grae.wall@1life.co.uk.

Joe Tavernier, Head of Community Services for St Albans City and District Council, said “Squatlife is an exciting community project that will explore squatting and homelessness using photography and the performing arts. I want to thank the National Lottery for supporting this fascinating project that is being put together by St Albans Arts Team. Squatlife will involve people from across the community, including those who have experienced homelessness, as well volunteers. I am very much looking forward to seeing the results.”

Jonathan and Kirsty from Herts Young Homeless added “We believe anything that raises awareness and educates the public about homelessness is very important and worthwhile”.

Squatlife has been developed and managed by St Albans Arts Team with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. (and should include HLF and C-Salt logos). The Team would like to thank Dave Kotula, Cardboard Citizens Theatre Group, Abbey Theatre, Herts Young Homeless, St Albans & Hertfordshire Archaeological Society. Centre 33, Open Door, Emmaus, Hightown Housing Association, St Albans Young Archaeologists Club, The Jubilee Centre, Pete Stevens, Rumball Sedgwick Estate Agents and St Albans Museums & Galleries Trust for their invaluable contributions.

For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/StAlbansSquatlife/