“I AM SOMEBODY - Faces of Homelessness” is my first exhibit. The purpose of the exhibit is to artistically depict, with compassion, respect, and dignity, our homeless neighbors and the harsh realities of unhoused life in Fayetteville. The exhibit features over twenty photographs of individuals and their homes.
I began my years-long journey to create this body of work the day I became aware of averting my eyes when I saw a homeless person on the street in Fayetteville. This realization caused me to stop and think about how the unhoused community is around us but not acknowledged and certainly not with us.
I wondered how it must feel to be excluded by most, if not all, of society. My interest in and observation of the issues affecting Fayetteville’s homeless community set me on a mission: to use photography as means to reveal and affirm the humanity and dignity of our unhoused neighbors.
These images must be seen to be felt. This exhibit requires us to look into the eyes of another human being, to truly see the unhoused people we pass every day. I got to know the people I photographed and invited them to participate in my artistic representation of them – including being special guests at the gallery opening. Each person in Fayetteville’s unhoused community has a face, a name, a heart, and a story. Each person deserves to be seen. Each of them is Somebody.
Bring "I Am Somebody" to your Community...
Gallery
Exhibit details
Twenty two photographs /20 - 24"x36" / 1 - 36"x24"/ 1 - 16"x40".
In January 2022, The Arts Council of Fayetteville Cumberland County presented the first I Am Somebody exhibit to the community.
On February 2, 2022, twenty pieces from the exhibit hung just outside Mayor Colvin's office in City Hall in Fayetteville and remained there for over three months.
From May 5, 2022, through August 18, 2022, thirteen pieces hung in the main entrance to the VA Medical Center on Raeford Road in Fayetteville, NC.
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