When Art is The Solution: A Guerrilla Art Campaign Fights Extreme Poverty

National Art Campaign of Compassion

Traveling through the streets of Skidrow an anonymous street artist called Skid Robot uses art to give hope to the hopeless. He has been spray painting around the homeless offering a glimpse of comfort for those in need. The ones who typically ignore the poor are now drawn to the images on the walls forcing them to acknowledge that 610,042 people are reportedly experiencing homelessness on any given night in the United States. According to their website, the guerrilla art campaign aims to start a “dialogue for a solution to extreme poverty.” Skid Robot tells the story of “desperate dreamers across the U.S. who are experiencing homelessness” through art and film.

#busstopblues #dreamin of a #jaguar…#begrateful#stayhumble #desperatedreamers #slumdogslumber #skidrobot

A photo posted by Skid Robot (@skidrobot) on Oct 10, 2014 at 7:58pm PDT

Ben was released from the #hospital with no #shoes. He was unable to walk as a result of being shot in the back and eventually the hospital booted him on the #street like so many others. I offered him a #meal but he declined, instead he asked for #paper#pencils#pens so that he can #write and #draw. He said he really liked the #art and use to draw himself I had a #sketchbook that was fairly new and a few pens and markers I was able to give him on the spot along with a lil #money so he can eat later…#helpthepoor#feedtheneedy#savehumanity#skidrobot #grimey#dtla#losangeles#streetart

A photo posted by Skid Robot (@skidrobot) on Oct 10, 2014 at 2:14pm PDT

The campaign aims to raise awareness and create a fund to support the homeless. His graffiti pieces are not ornate, they are rapidly painted using a single color focusing on content and meaning rather than aesthetics.

#birdman was saddened that the city had #buffed the #art. We came back to hook him up with some #water #chickfila and some new #decor. #birdman told us the #police asked him if he was the one #painting and if they caught him they’d #arrest him… Yeah right #pigs #fuckthepolice#artisnotacrime#helpthepoor #feedtheneedy #savehumanity A photo posted by Skid Robot (@skidrobot) on Sep 9, 2014 at 11:57am PDT

Robot uses art, activism and social media to make the temporary permanent.Using eye catching hashtags like: “#Fuckthepolice” and “#artisnotacrime,”he grabs the attention of viewers and keeps them in bated breath. Despite his brash methods, he ultimately releases a message of compassion and humanity. According to their Go Fund Me account, a preview of video footage for a documentary they are working on will be available soon.

Join the cause and donate: here