I'm an artist who used to be homeless. Here are five things I wish I'd known before I started

Three leading lights from the arts and homelessness community share five things they wish they’d known before embarking on their creative careers

Natasha Steer

A freelance creative health practitioner based in Medway, Steer founded Creatabot 15 years ago – a project which supports people with health and wellbeing through creativity. Steer says: “Creativity is my absolute anchor during difficult times, including during a period of sofa surfing and whenever I have fibromyalgia flare-ups. I feel like it runs through my blood. 

“I love helping others discover their personal creative outlets and seeing it improve their wellbeing. I feel very lucky to work within creativity as a freelancer, but as I read a while back, it isn’t luck… it’s the outcome of a lot of hard work.”

Five things I wish I’d known: 

→ It’s a process – not all your work may be creative at first (or even all the time); don’t presume that everyone is earning all their money by only working in the arts, that’s actually very rare

→ Turning up makes a huge difference – being reliable and making work will actually be the thing that makes you stand out

→ Mistakes are fine – they’re part of learning and growth, share what was learnt, and don’t let it become a roadblock. It also helps you become aware of limitations

→ Take time to reflect – don’t rush decisions; the rule of ‘sleep on it’ is really true when trying to decide whether to take work on or how to do something is good advice

→ Get all the training you possibly can – this builds skills and confidence, helping you feel prepared when challenges arise

Natasha Steer is founder of Creatabot

David Tovey

The former army chef is now an artist, activist and educator. 

Tovey says: “If you’re going through homelessness, illness or feeling like everything’s against you, I won’t pretend there’s an easy answer. But your story isn’t finished. Things take time. Longer than feels fair. Your path is your own. Not everyone will understand what you make. Some won’t like it. Sometimes you won’t even like it yourself. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth making. Because one day someone will see it. And it will connect. And that can change everything.”

Five things I wish I’d known:

→ Success is personal. Some days, just getting up and creating is enough

→ You don’t need funding to start. Make the work first

→ You don’t need permission. Just begin

→ It takes time. Everyone moves at their own pace – don’t give up

→ Not everyone will like your work. That’s fine. Keep making it anyway

See works by David Tovey on his website

Read more:

• Artist Charlotte Rose: ‘Warhol said everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. We’re living that now’
• My Dog Sighs: ‘The power of art is it makes people look at the world in a different way’
• Meet the Drummond Street Artists – the new art collective with histories of homelessness

Surfing Sofas

A poet and artist whose work reflects a history of homelessness, racism and trauma. He has performed at venues from Tate Modern to Saatchi Gallery and has been artist in residence at Museum of Homelessness and Centre for Homelessness Impact.

He says: “I didn’t know I was an artist until my friends told me I was. Writing was something I did to communicate how I felt, and to let people know they weren’t alone. I believe success is where preparation and opportunity meet. Years of writing have prepared me for opportunities to succeed.”

Five things I wish I’d known: 

→ Skill stacking – learning new skills that were helpful to my work 

→ Applying for funding – to turn ideas into impactful projects

→ Having mentors – their guidance saved time and missteps

→ Working in partnership – collaborations opened doors

→ Servitude – helping others led to more meaningful work and opportunities

See works by Surfing Sofas on his Instagram page

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

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