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Street Art: These sketches show what it means to be ‘down-and-out’ in London

The Big Issue’s Street Art page gives talented, marginalised individuals an outlet for creative expression

‘Home Is Where The Park Is’
by Anonymous 

“People think they almost recognise the places I try to draw, but they could be anywhere really,” reflects this artist, who was homeless for a time and now is vulnerably housed.

His simple sketches vividly convey what it means to be “down-and-out” in London. “I see rough sleepers around town every day,” he goes on. “I identify with them, but I can’t really do much to help, except just being friendly.

I draw pictures of people in doorways, or sitting out on the street. I don’t do likenesses very often… I don’t want to be intrusive. I tend to draw approximations of what I see around the town. Typical scenes… all too typical.”

Support our street artists over at The Big Issue Shop.

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When most people think about the Big Issue, they think of vendors selling the Big Issue magazines on the streets – and we are immensely proud of this. In 2022 alone, we worked with 10% more vendors and these vendors earned £3.76 million in collective income. There is much more to the work we do at the Big Issue Group, our mission is to create innovative solutions through enterprise to unlock opportunity for the 14million people in the UK living in poverty.

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