The Museum of Homelessness (MOH) in north London is set to open its doors to the public on May 24th. The charity, which has been operating temporary exhibitions for years, has recently signed a ten-year lease on an empty cottage in Finsbury Park.
The MOH aims to shed light on the experiences of homeless individuals, which have often been overlooked by the cultural elite. Shelter, a charity, estimates that 3,000 people in England sleep rough on any given night, with many more living in hostels or temporary accommodation. Despite these numbers, the museum’s curators, Jess and Matt Turtle, have gathered more items from anonymous donors living on the streets.
During their time living on the streets, both actors used black plastic bags as rain ponchos and witnessed firsthand the struggles faced by homeless individuals. In 2014, the museum was offered a collection of 7,000 objects from the Simon Community, a homelessness organization. Since then, they have continued to gather items from various sources to showcase in their permanent collection and special exhibition titled “How to Survive the Apocalypse”.
The MOH aims to provide a platform for homeless individuals’ stories to be heard and raise awareness about their experiences. The museum will feature items such as “Fred’s Trolley”, a shopping trolley used to serve hot drinks to homeless people during the pandemic. Both actors who experienced homelessness themselves are taking part in the opening exhibition and hope that it will inspire others to take action and help those in need.
