Dreams and Realities: the paintings

Here, you can download or order the ‘Dreams and Realities’ paintings and stories. Display them in your church – either by hanging them from the walls or by projecting them digitally.

The exhibition tells stories of people from St Mary’s Bramall Lane Family Choir in Sheffield. Each person here lives with strength and dignity whilst facing the challenges of life on the frontline of poverty.  Each person is a creative soul, hard-working, with skills to share and a dream. Their economic circumstances have not yet allowed them to realise their dreams. Each person has a reality that they live with as part of life on a low income. 

The dreams and the realities are depicted in the portraits, painted by Stephen Martin. Watch a video interview with Stephen, on the right or below. The portrait project was funded by Church Action on Poverty as part of the Let’s End Poverty campaign, and the portraits toured the UK during 2024. 

The slides include some updates on people’s stories, since the original tour in 2024. If you are displaying them for a second time, you could let your congregation know how sharing their stories has changed people’s lives and how they are working towards their dreams.