Cardboard City exhibition to shed light on London’s homeless history

An exhibition showcasing the stories and history of a London homeless community is opening later this month.

Homelessness Heritage in Waterloo will weave together personal accounts, artworks and photographs to shed light on those who lived in the Bullring area in Waterloo.

Also known as Cardboard City, the area was home to an encampment made from hundreds of cardboard boxes in the underpasses between Waterloo station and the South Bank.

Up to 200 people were sleeping rough in boxes in the area in the mid-1980s. The homeless community was evicted in 1998 following a High Court order.

The project is funded by Historic England’s Everyday Heritage grant, which celebrates working-class history.

It comes after Heritage England gave a grant of almost £25,000 for a project looking at Cardboard City.

Shaped and led by those with lived experience of homelessness, the exhibition aims to bring together stories of love, solidarity and resilience while also confronting the challenges of fear, hardship, and destitution, organisers said.

Euchar Gravina, artistic director at St John’s Waterloo, said the exhibition represented “the first public outcome of this ongoing project” and as a result will not be “comprehensive”.

“Instead, it offers a heartfelt endeavour to preserve and reflect upon the memories shared by and archival fragments of those whose lives were shaped by it, while honouring the legacy of those who are no longer with us.”

Tom Foxall, Historic England’s regional director, said: “There are so many hidden histories to uncover here in London, with the Cardboard City among the most poignant.

“The strength of our Everyday Heritage grant programme is we are funding projects that are community-led and really engage with local people by empowering them to research and tell their own stories.”

Homelessness Heritage in Waterloo: “The spirit of the Bullring lives on…” runs from18 Feb to 2 March in the Crypt at St John’s Church in Waterloo.