The Museum of Homelessness exhibition in Finsbury Park

A NEW exhibition has been unveiled in Finsbury Park exploring the murky relationship between homelessness and criminality over the past 400 years.

Criminal: An Untold History of Homelessness, Resistance and Survival, was launched by the Museum of Homelessness (MOH) on May 21 and will be open to the public for the next 10 weeks.

It is a deep, comprehensive dive into a series of laws and stories that have shaped generational attitudes towards the homeless, and a call for humanisation in a time where people become statistics, and far-right narratives set the precedent.

The exhibition features work from graffiti writer 10Foot, Gemma Lees, Matt Bonner, Spelling Mistakes Cost Lives, and Surfing Sofas.

Also featured in the exhibition are some previous front pages on the mistreatment of the homeless from the Camden New Journal, our sister paper.

Matt Turtle, the co-director of the MOH, said: “Criminalisation of homelessness, our subject matter, it really is hardwired into how councils, government departments, and sadly, many homelessness services operate.

“And we know this because we’re a grassroots homelessness frontline organisation ourselves, as well as a museum. And in the last 10 years we’ve seen far too many examples of people being criminalised just for trying to exist.

“The rise of the far right all over the world is being matched by increasing rates of homelessness. We have put this exhibition on as a cautionary tale and an act of resistance.”

Jess Turtle, MOH’s other director, added: “Criminal not only interrogates why we have the huge problems that we have in society, but it also presents solutions. Those of you who know Museum of Homelessness will know that we really believe that solidarity is our most potent weapon.

“And Criminal is kind of encapsulating that. So what we want visitors to go away with is to share our vision for a more connected and compassionate society at a time when we really, really need it.”

The full programme can be found on the Museum of Homelessness website.

The museum is open Thursday-Saturday each week, and the exhibition will be on until July 25.