Meet Rene Robbins, the 100-year-old artist who survived homelessness: ‘I’d cry myself to sleep’

You could easily mistake Rene Robbins’ living room for a small art gallery. The walls of her first-floor apartment are adorned with colourful mixed media artworks, all of which were created by her in the last 20 years. 

In a corner on the floor, framed artworks lean up against the wall. There’s no more wall space left to hang anything else.

Amid the frames are collages layered with shapes and colours, intricate geometric line drawings, and sketches made with coloured pencils – which she now prefers to create because the process is easier on her hands.

Celebrate David Attenborough’s 100th birthday in this week’s Big Issue magazine. Available now

The daughter of an architect, Robbins often finds herself instinctively returning to geo-metric shapes and patterns in her work.

She first points me towards an intricate black-and-white drawing of the immediately recognisable ET from Steven Spielberg’s 1982 film.

“He used to be on the television all the time, years ago,” Robbins giggles. “So he was my first drawing.”

Robbins turned 100 on 18 April. On the day of my visit – when she is still officially 99 – another centenarian, Sir David Attenborough, sits as a cutout (left) on her table. She has been working on a wildlife collage featuring past and present photographs of the legendary broadcaster, whose birthday falls just 20 days after hers.

Robbins did not grow up thinking of herself as an artist. Creativity came into her life much later, through sessions with the 240Project, an arts and wellbeing activity centre in West London that supports people affected by homelessness, mental ill health and social exclusion.

Until very recently, the North London-based artist had been commuting over two hours to travel to the 240Project.

“I’d get one bus to Oakwood, then Oakwood to King’s Cross, then King’s Cross to Ladbroke Grove,” she explains. “Three buses!”

Why make such a long trip? Robbins shrugs. “I’m a very stubborn woman.”

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It’s more than that, though. An experience with homelessness is what originally brought Robbins to the centre. There, she described to her peers how “alone and helpless” she had felt during this period.

She tells me, “I lay there scared, hearing the doors of other tenants coming and going. It was so frightening sharing a house with people that I didn’t know. I would pull the cover over me to hide and pray, and cry myself to sleep.”

For a while Robbins moved between temporary accommodation and shared housing, carrying what little she had with her.

“Only a few clothes in a black bag,” she explains. “Being put into a bed and breakfast and having to keep moving on.”

Day centres and church halls became lifelines. She attended a church hall in Southgate, where people experiencing homelessness could gather for a meal and some company. 

She says, “They provided hot soup, dinner and sweet tea. I made quite a few friends.”

From there Robbins began visiting other day centres across London, meeting people who were going through similar. And she found that helping others was also beneficial for herself. 

“I started helping in a kitchen,” she says. “I used to go on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

She volunteered where she could at different centres.

“There are many men and women who are so depressed they have turned to drink,” she says. “Quite a few have died.”

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Eventually Robbins was able to move into stable housing, where she still lives today. Friends, neighbours and family remain an important part of her life. Her downstairs neighbour helps with shopping, and she lists the friends who will soon be visiting.

Each morning begins the same way. “I say my prayers every morning,” she nods. “For everybody who is sick or ill.”

She used to attend church regularly but now prefers this quiet at-home ritual instead.

After that, the day begins: cooking, drawing, and sometimes even dancing around the room. “I love dancing,” she grins, showing off a few moves. “It’s good exercise.”

Despite her energy, Robbins’ mobility has slowed her down a little in recent months, meaning she can’t take those buses over to West London. Instead, she has been visited by Richard and Allie, two team members at 240Project, who work on creative art projects with her, like this morning’s collage.

Allie points out a letter addressed to Robbins on her desk. “We noticed the stamp has the King on it,” Allie says, turning to her. “And we said, ‘I wonder if you’re going to get a letter?”

Robbins beams. “Yeah, I’m gonna get one from the King.” She still finds the number hard to comprehend. “I can’t believe that I’m 100,” she says. 

As she celebrates this milestone, Robbins is adamant that creativity has played a part in her long life.

“Drawing is good,” she says. “OK, not everybody will want to sit and draw, but I do. It occupies your brain. It really does. It’s an exercise for your brain.”

Robbins has since returned to the 240Project to attend her birthday party, which was “lovely”, Allie and Richard confirmed later. The cake had “10 candles – one for each decade, and to give her a fair chance of blowing them out”.

Find out more and support the 240Project

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