Hidden Spire

A unique collaboration between an arts centre and a homelessness centre.

The Hidden Spire collective brings together people from different walks of life; many have experience of homelessness, having initially come to the Old Fire Station through Crisis, many grew up outside of the UK, and many have lived in Oxford all their lives.

The Collective work together to make publicly shared artworks, always deciding collaboratively what they make through a process of co-creation. Each project is led by a visiting professional artist, and is delivered in partnership with Crisis Skylight Oxford.

This work builds on previous Hidden Spire projects from 2011-2020, which brought together Crisis members with professional artists to create performances across music, dance, theatre, visual arts and more.

You can find out more about Hidden Spire projects here:  www.hiddenspire.co.uk

In 2026, the project culminated in an exhibition in the Old Fire Station gallery, featuring portraits of characters from the performance by photographer Sam Ivin. These are displayed alongside writing and drawings created by the group, expressing each character’s experience of freedom.

Our Freedom Then and Now: June - March 26

What is freedom? A dream, an illusion, a shifting state of mind? Does yours come at the cost of mine? Will we ever truly be free?

Our Freedom Then & Now was a national project led by Future Arts Centres to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The Hidden Spire Collective took part in alongside 79 other arts centres across the breadth of the UK (June-December 2025).

Over the course of the project, the group discussed what freedom meant to them alongside exploring what freedom looked like at the end of WW2 and in the following decades, in workshops with University of Oxford academics and creative exercises. We then devised and wrote a performance ‘Am I Free Yet?’ which conveyed the multitude of perspectives on freedom that were experienced both by the group and imagined characters.

This film, produced by Oxford Atelier, captures the rich process and performance.

In 2026, the project culminated in an exhibition in the Old Fire Station gallery, featuring portraits of characters from the performance by photographer Sam Ivin. These are displayed alongside writing and drawings created by the group, expressing each character’s experience of freedom.

Contributing Artists:

Anisah, BB, Claire Frampton, Dilman, Eunice, Gill, Isabel Taylor, James Wilson, Kemal Babutsali, Jodie Lamb, Laura Walton, Mark Taylor, Lucia Kali, Neil Mukherjee, NRed, Penny, Ryan Weller, Search, Simon Garrood.

The project was facilitated by artists Lizzy McBain & Polly Tisdall, along with Old Fire Station & Crisis Staff, Sarah Cassidy, Grace Copeland, Maya Little, Jodie Lamb & Hamish Hollis-Hill.

With thanks to our funders: Future Arts Centres, Arts Council England, TORCH, Oxford City Council, National Lottery Community Fund, The Batchworth Trust, Adrian Swire Charitable Trust, Mr & Mrs J A Pye’s Charitable Settlement, Leigh Trust, Helen Roll Charity, Katie Bradford Arts Trust, The Stanton Ballard Charitable Trust, The City of Oxford Charity, Bartlett Taylor Charitable Trust

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