'Each brush tells a story of hope': Homeless artist hosts exhibition to help himself off the streets

Homeless artist David Bedford started drawing just to “keep him on the straight and narrow” while he was on London’s streets – but now he’s hoping his artwork holds the key to helping him out of homelessness for good.

Bedford will be showcasing his artwork at his first-ever exhibition on 18 and 19 May thanks to the help of homelessness charity and Indian restaurant Punjab Covent Garden.

The 57-year-old, who has been sleeping rough on and off in London since 2019, is hoping sales of his artwork will fund a move indoors to take up factory work in Lincolnshire.

“This is my first exhibition – I’m excited and nervous all in the same thing,” Bedford told the Big Issue.

“I got into drawing on the street. It helped me to keep myself sane and stopped me going down a path of drink or drugs. It kept me on the straight and narrow so to speak.

“People go through bad times but you’ve just to keep moving forwards. As long as you can keep yourself occupied then you’re not feeling sorry for yourself. When I was doing my artwork I wasn’t thinking about how bad the situation was that I was in.”

Bedford left the UK in 2009 to start backpacking around Europe, living and working in Malta, Sicily, Italy, Spain, Germany, Holland and France while on his travels.

But Brexit forced him back to the UK when changing work regulations saw job opportunities dry up.

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Bedford returned to the UK but was unable to access the benefits system after being out of the country for so long, leaving him with little option but to start sleeping rough in London.

That was when he found solace in art, drawing in Shoe Lane Library in London’s Square Mile and selling then when he was allowed in Pret a Manger with the idea of making a living from selling his sketches.

But he hit a stumbling block as he could not afford a street traders’ licence to sell his artwork on the street legally.

“For £45 a day to lash out for a licence then you wouldn’t be on the street. And there’s no guarantee that you are going to earn £45 a day,” he said.

Bedford has now joined forces with Under One Sky – the homelessness charity that supports him – to advocate for free or lower-priced licensed art spaces for homeless artists.

The charity’s trustee Amrit Maan, who is the managing director of Punjab Covent Garden, has also opened the restaurant’s Shaftesbury wing to Bedford to showcase his work with the goal of earning enough cash to help himself off the streets.

“There is work up there (in Lincolnshire) and plenty of it. But I need to get up there and have a place to go and get the work. You could argue the fact that if you’re homeless you could just go up there but there are more facilities for the homeless down here than there are up there,” said Bedford.

“It’s not totally off my back. The artwork is but I wouldn’t be in the position without Under One Sky. They’re the ones that have given me the chance to do the exhibition.”

He added: “Each brush tells a story of resilience and hope, turning adversity into art, and hopefully, a place to call home.”

Mikkel Juel Iversen, Under One Sky founder, added: “David’s art is his fishing rod but he was denied access to the lake. This exhibition is a lake created for David to empower him to end his status as homeless.”

David Bedford’s artwork will be on show at the Punjab Shaftesbury Wing on 18-19 May. To support, donate to Under One Sky’s campaign for Bedford here.