Antropia Green Man Plaque

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A participatory public artwork co-designed with people affected by homelessness, embedding accessible support resources into the public realm through QR-enabled bronze sculptures

The Green Man Plaque

Initiator(s)

Antropia, Amanda Camenisch, Lizzy Drury

Description

The Green Man Plaque is a bronze public artwork created by Antropia, a London-based Community Interest Company, with participants of its Portal Project, weekly art workshops for people affected by homelessness across Central London, running since 2024. In these workshops, participants repeatedly returned to the image of the Green Man: a figure that exists at the threshold between the wild and the cultivated, nature and the city, resilience and renewal. It became a shared symbol through which many participants could express their own experiences and associations. Over a series of workshops, participants created individual clay plaques inspired by the Green Man. Antropia then brought together elements from each of these works into a single collective face, combining the contributions of many people into one shared sculpture. The final artwork was cast in bronze and installed across several locations in Central London where many people sleep rough. Each plaque contains a QR code linking directly to essential support services, including information on shelters, food provision, showers, healthcare and legal advice. By combining public art with practical infrastructure, the Green Man Plaque functions as a gateway to care, connection and support.

Goals

The Green Man Plaque combines public art with digital technology to create both a symbolic and practical point of access to care. Conceived as a portal, the Green Man functions on two levels: as a protective figure that offers a sense of presence, empathy, and belonging, and as a gateway to essential support through an embedded QR code linking to local services.
The decision to use QR technology emerged directly from conversations with participants. Many people experiencing homelessness carry smartphones and rely on digital tools to navigate the city and access information. The artwork therefore integrates technology into the public realm in a way that is immediate, accessible, and useful. At the same time, the project reconnects with one of Britain's oldest cultural symbols. The Green Man has appeared for centuries in churches, carvings, and sacred architecture as an emblem of renewal, protection, and the enduring relationship between people and the natural world. Many of these churches continue to serve as places of refuge and support for people sleeping rough today. By reimagining this historic figure within a contemporary public artwork, the project creates a bridge between ancient traditions of care and present-day social infrastructure, transforming heritage into a living resource for the city.

Beneficial outcomes

The Green Man Plaque directly benefits people experiencing homelessness, rough sleeping, poverty, and displacement by providing accessible, immediate pathways to essential support. Each plaque contains a QR code linking to practical resources, including information on emergency accommodation, food services, showers, healthcare, and legal advice.

Location

United Kingdom (London)

Users

People affected by homelessness, rough-sleepers, refugees, people affected by poverty

Maintained by

Antropia

Duration

2025 - ongoing

Category

Scientific
Pedagogical
Politics
Urban Development
Economy
Environment
Social

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