If you had an exhibition of the homeless to stage, where would you stage it? In the badly named Home (to the monied)? In some profit-stuffing shop or cafe? Or would you hammer it on the walls of an illegal squat and invite the wavelengthed creatives in to enchant a night?
Loose Space is a...hmmm...not so sure whether it's a movement, a collective or an idea but it's got a Facebook site, and its friends were all invited to an evening of, well, Loose Space...
"Bring your hearts full of love and your hands full of creative resistance...paints, artwork you want to show, information you want to share...instruments and most importantly your loose selves" stated the event page "We are inviting everyone to come and create Loose Space with us within the city on the 23rd December...Live Music, Food, Bring Your Own Booze and Instruments..."
The Loose Space page added: "To transcend the multiple crisis faced by humanity in the twenty-first century...the participation of millions of people is required. As new insurgencies develop and find ways to counteract the ravages of the capitalist world system, the experiences of European squatters will be one of many guiding lights that help to illuminate the road ahead..."
To help illuminate the road, the Loose Space evening was held within Manchester's newest squat, near the Northern Quarter, taken by the Manchester Activist Network (M.A.N.)...
...After young homeless people were brutally evicted by the Co-op from its land near Victoria Station (see here), the old Pizza Express building was occupied as a refuge - but the week before Christmas they were kicked out by Manchester Pension Fund, in which Salford Council has a stake (see here)...
With the prospect of living back on the streets for the holidays, another building was squatted. And this time, unlike the `ethical' Co-op and the `caring councils', the building's owner has agreed that they can stay over Christmas. Last night was a kind of festive art happening to celebrate.
Slapped on the cracked walls was a photograph exhibition of the area's homeless people by the Mancorialist...
"I will be putting an exhibition up in a Manchester squat to help raise awareness of homelessness" he explained "The exhibition will also present a solution to this; allowing homeless people to use empty buildings as living space.
"These buildings could be used simply to keep the homeless warm and dry at night, and the Manchester Activist Network have helped to make this possible by gaining entry to empty buildings and creating free space for the homeless to occupy" he added
"This event, named Loose Space, is to celebrate the work of M.A.N. and that these vulnerable people now have a roof over their heads for Christmas" he said "We respect what these extraordinary people are doing for the homeless in Manchester. It puts the superficial nature of this time of year into perspective when all these people want for Christmas is a safety and solace of a roof over their heads."
There was also lots of other art created for the candle-lit event – politically painted textiles, flowers with power, figures that had figured it out...with a backdrop of music and attitude...
"Loose space is most likely to emerge in cities since certain social and physical conditions that encourage and Loose Space exist" the Loose Space page explains "Free access, a diversity of persons and fluidity of meaning are all conditions that create Loose Space. Through actions people make use of the physical features + give meaning to a space. People through initiative and cooperation can fulfil the possibilities of Loose Space..."
If you had an exhibition of the homeless to stage, where would you stage it? This could be the start of something huge for a city that is crying out for free art space for credible and incredible art...and empty spaces for the homeless to live.
For more details and to see more photos of the artwork see the Facebook page Loose Space
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