A Community Interest Company
with a difference
Why this matters to us...
Homelessness isn't a cause we picked off a list. Before Urban Art Store, I spent twenty years working in Norwich City Council's homelessness department. I took part in the city's night counts and heard stories that stay with you long after the shift ends.
That experience has shaped how we run the gallery. Members of our team ran the London Marathon for Shelter and raised around £5,000. We have sold Banksy-branded Tesco Bags for Life in support of St Martin's Housing Trust, Norwich's leading provider of housing and support for people experiencing homelessness. Our most recent art project raised around £6,000 for homeless charities.
Earlier this year we also sat down with Norwich painter Devin Smith, who paints people experiencing homelessness as collaborators rather than subjects. You can read that conversation, Give voice to homeless one portrait at a time, on our blog. It captured exactly what we believe art can do.
Why a Community Interest Company
When people buy a print or a raffle ticket for a good cause, they deserve to know exactly where their money goes. Setting up Seen Through Art as a CIC is how we make that promise official.
A CIC is a company that exists for the benefit of the community, not for private profit. Seen Through Art's directors are unpaid, and the company carries an asset lock, which legally protects what it raises for its community purpose. We will also publish an annual fundraising report, so anyone can see what came in, which charities received it and what it paid for.
In short, it moves our charity work from good intentions to something transparent and accountable.
Selling art for good.
Artwork sold through the project raises money that goes directly to homeless charities.
Art actions and artist collaborations.
We will work with artists on projects that raise awareness of homelessness and the people living through it.
Events for other causes.
Alongside our own fundraising, we will organise events that raise money for other charities.
Working with local authorities.
We will work alongside councils and services that support homeless people across the county.
Your chance to support our casue.
We have launched a very limited edition Banksy Plinth T-Shirt.
Your chance to win a Banksy
Launching soon.
