Objective
(In)Visible will create an intimate and dignified human portrait of San Diego's homeless population. Through timeless photographic portraiture and first person stories, it will offer residents and visitors the opportunity to challenge their perceptions of those living on our city's streets. This project will confront the stigma surrounding homelessness, raise awareness about the realities facing San Diego's homeless population, and provide a space for our community to come together to learn, discuss, and take action to address the issue.
Context
There are thousands of men, women, and children in our community that carry on with their lives hidden in plain sight. We often pass by ' or look away from ' our homeless neighbors because we feel there's little we can do to help.
The number of people living on San Diego's streets is rising, having nearly doubled in just the last five years. Families continue to be impacted by the ongoing economic crisis, losing jobs and homes. Veterans are returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without the support they need, and many of them are ending up on the street.
For social, economic, and humanitarian reasons, we must explore new ways of addressing homelessness before it reaches epidemic proportions in our community. Many of those on the streets seek refuge on sidewalks, in doorways, in parks, and underneath highway overpasses throughout the city in wealthy neighborhoods and poor ones alike. It is a reality that concerns us all.
We believe that challenging public perceptions about homelessness is the first step to finding real and lasting solutions to the bleak reality faced by far too many people in our city. (In)Visible will reveal the faces of the individuals and families we often fail to see, and share the stories of those we fail to hear.
Project Description
- Forty life-size black/white photographic portraits
- Mobile, modular, large-scale structure
- Viewers walk through pathways formed by images suspended in structure
- Audio component featuring first-person stories of the men, women and children portrayed
- Designed for indoors/outdoors, schools, museums, galleries, plazas, parks, or parking lots
- Advocacy component promoting public education, debate, philanthropy, and political action
Project Team
Bear Guerra Lead contact / Photography
http://bearguerra.com
Omar Lopez Design/Build
http://frankenhaus.org
Sponsorship
The ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties is proud to support this artistic endeavor to highlight the situation of thousands of San Diegans living on our streets.
