Last Updated on January 11, 2024, 12:41 PM | Published: January 11, 2024
The Homeless Alliance sends this information as posted below:
OKLAHOMA CITY – Artists who are or have experienced homelessness will display their work in an art show this month. The exhibit will be on display at DNA Galleries, 1709 NW 16th Street, in the Plaza District from January 11 through February 2 and is free and open to the public.
The featured artists participate in the Homeless Alliance’s “Fresh stART” program, an open studio art program designed to provide people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City a supportive environment for creating art.
Art programs like Fresh stART enable people experiencing homelessness to express themselves creatively, manage emotional issues, develop social skills through positive interaction with a peer group and develop confidence and skills transferable to employment. “I do art to heal,” Melvin, an artist showing pieces in this month’s art show, explained, “My mom committed suicide and it is art that helps me deal with this and other things I face.”
The artwork shown covers a variety of mediums including mixed media, collage, watercolor, photography, acrylic and colored pencil. Participating Fresh stART artists receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their artwork, a source of income that the artists look forward to receiving after every show. Thanks to a partnership with Oklahoma City University’s Service Learning Program and Professor Emma Difani, artists will once again have prints and t-shirts of their work for sale in addition to the original pieces.
“The Fresh stART program has been a part of our Day Shelter programming for 10 years,” said Dan Straughan, executive director at the Homeless Alliance. “It helps people develop valuable coping skills with which to handle difficult situations and when an artist sells something that they created, it really helps build their confidence knowing that someone else values their work.”
Melvin echoed this sentiment, saying, “People can look down on you (when you’re experiencing homelessness), but when I do my artwork and they appreciate it I am their equal.”
Fresh stART hosts studio time two times per week at the Homeless Alliance’s Day Shelter located on their Homeless Resource Campus. Art supplies of all kinds are donated by community members and can be donated at DNA for the duration of the show.
The Homeless Alliance, a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization, helps coordinate and improve services for people experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City. The Homeless Alliance has several housing programs for families with children, veterans and people who are chronically homeless, publishes The Curbside Chronicle and operates the Westtown Homeless Resource Campus which includes a Resource Center, a housing complex and a Day Shelter that serves an average of over 350 people each day. For more information about how to help, call the Homeless Alliance at (405) 415-8410 or visit www.homelessalliance.org.
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