The Park Slope Women's Shelter at the Eighth Avenue Armory hosted a most extraordinary and moving art exhibition tonight. Titled "The Home Project," it contained nearly 100 works of art by about 40 residents from three Brooklyn shelters run by CAMBA.I will be posting pictures and quotations as I get clearance from CAMBA to do so.
Working with art therapists Jessica Fox, Kelley Linhardt, and Kate McIntosh, residents of the shelters (both men and women) made drawings, paintings, collages, and sculptures that express their concept of home. These works were displayed alongside statements by the artists. As written in the exhibition brochure, "The images depict their heartbreak, yet demonstrate the resiliency of spirit and essence of home and community that thrives within them."
Though I missed the artist's talk and other speeches, the reception was upbeat and well-attended. It was exciting to see all the artists, many of whom had never made art before, happy to be there sharing their very personal work.
The work itself was creative and raw, and often quite vibrant. Many of the pieces I won't soon forget.
The idea of asking people living in a shelter to think about their idea of home and make art about it strikes me as a very brave and meaningful thing to do, and I hope this project can be followed up and replicated far and wide.
I invite anyone, especially those involved in the project, to post comments to this blog entry sharing their experience and the experiences of the artists!
Photo at top: Andrea Moody, CAMBA staff
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