The Home We Carry:
A Visual Anthology of the Unhoused
Home. What does home mean to you? If you found yourself suddenly without a home, what pieces of home would you gather to carry with you? Circumstances can change in an instant and shift the comfortable into the unhoused. Our stories are all connected. All of us seeking the comfort of home, both tangible and intangible. I spent time interviewing some of our current unhoused community to find out what home meant to them and I am honored to share the art that came out of these encounters.
This show is designed to spark a conversation about the nuanced definition of home and the circumstances that can find someone without this most basic necessity. Desiring to bridge the gap between the comfortable and the uncomfortable, the elements of the show have been designed to cause the viewer to pause and think about the individuals and their stories- this could easily be your brother, your friend, your mother.
Art in Movement
The final component of this project was a performative piece, a physical embodiment of the work and stories gathered. I loosely choreographed this dance and hired some incredible dancers who carried out my vision so well. In keeping with the intention of the un-ignorability of this body of work, this final piece was an important way to close out my show and continue the conversation.
Creative Conversations
Together we can affect real change.
My hope in creating this show is to create an opportunity for creative conversations surrounding the nuanced topic that is homelessness. Our shelters are overrun and overworked but if we as a community can come together and discuss small ways we can all help we can find ways to change the narrative in some of these stories. Brené Brown writes about story stewardship and it is so fitting for this show, “Story stewardship means honoring the sacred nature of story—the ones we share and the ones we hear—and knowing that we’ve been entrusted with something valuable or that we have something valuable that we should treat with respect and care. We are good stewards of the stories we tell by trusting them to people who have earned the right to hear them, and telling them only when we are ready. We are good stewards of the stories we hear by listening, being curious, affirming, and believing people when they tell us how they experienced something.”
Make a donation.
Our local shelters are doing the incredible work of serving our unhoused community and we can partner with them to further their impact and be known as a place that takes care of each other. Consider volunteering or donating. Together we can make our valley a kinder and safer place.
"The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned."
- Maya Angelou—
Funded by a grant from: