The lived experience of poverty in Ireland: a commentary on the ‘Object Poverty’ exhibition

Abstract

This article reports on a poverty awareness project which was conducted by participants and staff based in an organisation for women affected by addiction and poverty. Through the application of material ethnography methods, this initiative led to the creation of a set of artefacts which culminated in the exhibition titled, Object Poverty. This article traces the history of this initiative and its effectiveness in building poverty awareness within and external to the host organisation.