You are invited to donate your shoes and share your story with Fiona at her art installation "Walk a mile in My Shoes" at the UNSEEN Arts Hub

"The shoes are a snap-shot of portraits of women's lives and written stories. They represent different intersections of life, some confronting homelessness, abuse, addiction, mental illness, disability, poverty, sexuality, ageing, racism, domestic violence, loss, unemployment and seeking asylum. The shoes represent the women in our communities who fight so hard advocating for change, human rights and social justice. These stories are often not heard and go unseen. The visual impact of 'Walk a mile in my shoes' enables the inclusion of many women's stories to be told and collectively seen." - Fiona Arnold

Fiona Arnold is a community worker and has been an interdisciplinary artist for over 30+ years. Fiona has personal experience of homelessness during which she sought safety and community in her local library.

WHEN

10am - 4pm

24-27 November 2022

WHERE

UNSEEN Arts Hub, Centenary Square, Parramatta

WHY AN UNSEEN ARTS HUB?

Highly visible and innovative, the UNSEEN Arts Hub uses art’s unique power of arousing curiosity to generate a safe space within communities to raise public awareness of the complex and unexpected circumstances leading to women’s hidden homelessness. The UNSEEN Arts Hub challenges dehumanising attitudes and misconceptions that promote the negative stereotypes, fear and stigma so often associated with women who experience housing insecurity and homelessness in our communities These stereotypes often translate into not-in-my-back-yard approaches to social and affordable housing. Instead, the UNSEEN Arts Hub generates tolerance and understanding of the causes of women’s homelessness and the pathways needed to secure safe and adequate housing for women at risk. For homelessness to end, change must happen in the hearts and minds of all Australians before policy can reflect much-needed social change.

WHAT IS WOMEN'S HIDDEN HOMELESSNESS?

In Australia, over 50,000 women are experiencing homelessness, mainly caused by domestic violence and financial abuse. While some 400,000 women over 45 are estimated to be at risk of homelessness, fear and stigma causes many to avoid support services and remain in violent situations. Others stay in temporary or overcrowded accommodation, or sleep in their car or concealed places. Older women are the fastest-growing cohort experiencing homelessness, and 400,000 women over 45 are currently estimated to be at risk. Without the opportunity to learn from those with lived experience, the diversity and scale of women’s housing insecurity and homelessness will continue to be underestimated, making the future increasingly bleak for young women.The UNSEEN Arts Hub makes visible the narratives of these women through the power of art and face-to-face engagement with the public.

Thank you to the City of Parramatta, Bonnie Support Services, Western Sydney University and Museum of Understanding Through Tolerance and Inclusion, along with Primary Comms Group, for supporting the Parramatta activation of the UNSEEN Arts Hub. This activation would not be possible without the leadership of women from the UNSEEN Arts Hub who have lived experience of housing insecurity and homelessness. We also wish to thank Code Green, AutoSkin, Avery Dennison, American Shingles, AWS, Soroptimist, Share the Dignity and Khun Khao Foundation, as without them - we wouldn't have an arts hub.