Streetwise Opera
Streetwise Opera
England, London England, North West
Artform
Opera
Organisation Type
Other
Contact
Streetwise Opera is an opera company that enables people who’ve experienced homelessness to find inspiration and empowerment while they rebuild their lives and identities. We support participants to develop as creative people and, as we amplify their voices, change how society views homelessness.
We engage world-class artists, both established and emerging, to co-create bold new work and reimagine traditional repertoire. We create opera that is for everyone and, by bringing together diverse voices, change how society views opera.
We run a programme of singing and creative workshops in London, Manchester and Nottingham, that inspires and empowers people who are recovering from homelessness. As they engage with our work, Streetwise Opera performers improve their wellbeing and rebuild their social networks, and we have a robust evaluation system that helps us demonstrate the difference we make.
People who experience homelessness very often suffer from a diminished sense of self-worth and low expectations about what they can achieve and what they can expect from life. Streetwise Opera performers reinvent themselves as creators who make the world more beautiful and have the power to bring audiences to their feet. This gives them the confidence and inspiration to rebuild their lives.
“Every time I leave the Streetwise session I have a spring in my step for the rest of the day. I feel so much better for the whole day. It’s just a massively joyful place to be.”
— Streetwise Opera performer
Our regular workshops provide a dependable source of fun and creativity for people who are often let down by society and services, while our productions offer a platform for people to share their skills and talents, redefining opera and who it is for.
Streetwise Opera founded With One Voice, which has since been rebranded as Arts & Homelessness International, a movement which is building the arts and homelessness sector globally through exchanges in policy and practice.