This week saw the opening of the People. exhibition at the Royal Cornwall Museum. The people behind the exhibition, Helen Trevaskis, Gavan Boulder and their team, held an event on Wednesday 16^th November to showcase the work. It was a chance for everyone involved and their guests to get together and share each other’s company, stories and most importantly, discuss the images and the challenges they presented to viewers.

Guests were welcomed to the main hall of the museum by Helen, Gavan, and their team. The beautiful, spacious room, with exhibits from Cornwall’s past lining its walls, juxtaposed the evenings’ conversations about Cornwall’s people’s present and future. It served its purpose for the evening beautifully.

     

Helen introduced the evening and gave directions to everyone present to the location of the exhibition. The exhibition itself is situated upstairs in the museum’s Link Gallery where the black and white photos, hanging on blue walls gaze out into the room and the viewers. They are beautiful but honest portraits that challenge the preconceptions or stereotypes of what someone who is experiencing homelessness looks like. Everyone photographed has experienced homelessness or housing insecurity.

The room was busy and energetic, with pockets of chatter throughout. Most importantly, some of those who were photographed for theexhibition were present, speaking of their experiences. Everyone who was able to interact them left with new perspectives.   

   

After everyone had had plenty of time to take in the portraits, the guests were invited back to the main hall where Helen spoke about the exhibitions aims. Gavan also gave his insights into what it was like to work with such a diverse group of people of the course of this year.

The formal part of the evening was closed by the immensely talented musician Sam Richardson played a self-penned melody about his own experiences.

The gathered guests were then able to spend more time together in the main hall. It was a really warm evening full of sentiment driven by the fact that there is no such thing as ‘looking homeless’.

The exhibition at Royal Cornwall Museum runs until the 23rd December. Find out more about it and how to visit the museum by hitting the link below!

People.