Homeless people in Manchester have created "customised" tourist postcards of the city, in collaboration with arts organisation arthur+martha, and aided by poets from North America. The postcards are currently exhibited in Bury Transport Museum as part of Bury Text. "A map of you" postcards carry tiny stories, little snatches of homeless people's lives. In the white space between the buildings are the stories some stencilled, some handwritten, some self-explanatory, funny, dour, elusive. The arthur+martha experimental arts organisation works with people who are often pushed to the margins of society - older people in hospital, excluded school pupils, children with special needs and many others. The Bury Text Festival pioneers unusual and radical use of language - in this case, helping homeless people find opportunities for self-expression. International poets Geoff Huth (US) Steve Gaisson and Derek Beaulieu (both from Canada) are involved in the project, leading sessions as guest artists and helping to edit work.
 
A map of you has been supported by Arts Council England, Bury MBC and the Lowry - and is working in partnership with The Big Issue in the North, The Red Door Housing Concern Centre, Brighter Futures at Bury Adult Learning Service, The Booth Centre and LOVE Creative.
 
A slideshow featuring a map of you is at BBC online:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-13281902  The a map of you postcards are exhibited as part of the Bury Text Festival at Bury Transport Museum until 26 May. To read more about the project please visit http://arthur-and-martha.blogspot.com/search/label/a%20map%20of%20you
To view more of the postcards, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/arthur-and-martha/sets/72157626559817185/