A free art exhibition featuring unique pieces created by people impacted by homelessness in Croydon opens this week. The first-of-its-kind exhibition aims to share the stories of people in the borough with nowhere safe to live, and to celebrate the local community’s efforts to end homelessness for good.

Organised by the charity Crisis, The Big Make exhibition will run from Tuesday 13 October until Friday 30 October at Croydon Urban Room in the Whitgift Centre.

Its opening hours are 10am – 4pm, Tuesdays to Saturdays.

The Big Make showcases work created by residents across Croydon, including people with lived experience of homelessness, as well as local schools, businesses and volunteers.

One of the exhibition’s centrepieces is a display of 4,000 handmade porcelain discs, representing the estimated number of families and individuals who have faced homelessness in Croydon over the past year.

Other highlights include a sound installation featuring people with lived experience of homelessness talking about what having a home means to them, alongside a display of 3D characters celebrating Croydon’s diversity and strength.

Crisis is also running free arts workshops for adults and children aged 14 and over. The workshops will take place from Tuesday 20 – Thursday 22 October and people can book their places for the workshops using this link.

Much of the art on display was created at Crisis Skylight Croydon, where people facing homelessness can access vital support, including help finding somewhere safe to live and access to healthcare, benefits and employment opportunities.

Christine Eyers, Director of Crisis Skylight Croydon, said: “We’re incredibly proud of all the people who came together to shed light on homelessness in Croydon and the local action being taken to help people in the area rebuild their lives. 

“From the people who have experienced, or are currently experiencing, homelessness who bravely shared their personal stories, to the local schools, businesses, and volunteers, who generously donated their time, it’s been a privilege to witness what can happen when a community comes together through creativity.

“The Big Make is a powerful statement that homelessness should never be accepted as inevitable in our society. At Crisis, we support people with nowhere safe to live by finding them a safe place to call home, as well as help with employment, healthcare, and rebuilding their self-belief.

“Working with the local community is a crucial part of this and we would like to thank everyone involved in The Big Make for playing their part in shining a light on this issue and working towards ending homelessness in Croydon for good.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

About figures for homelessness in Croydon

The Big Make exhibition features a display of 4,000 handmade porcelain discs to represent the number of families and individuals who have faced homelessness in Croydon in the last year.

This estimate is derived from combining the 2025/26 CHAIN data for individuals seen sleeping rough in Croydon with the council figures for the number of households (families and individuals) in temporary accommodation at the end of March 2026.

This 4,000 figure also reflects the rounded total number of households who were assessed as homeless or at risk of homelessness by Croydon local authority Apr 2025-Mar 2026.

Editors should note that with the data available, it’s often difficult to get a true sense of scale across the various forms of homelessness. This estimate is intended to give a very visual sense of the sorts of numbers we are dealing with.