The exhibit, “A Place To Call Home“, is a collaborative project between Central Current and ArtRage and opens this Saturday, February 8th at ArtRage’s gallery located at 505 Hawley Ave.
An opening reception will be held that evening from 6 – 8 pm. The event is free to attend and open to the public.
Now in its 17th year of operation, ArtRage’s mission is to display art that “inspires resistance and promotes social awareness; supports social justice, challenges preconceptions and encourages cultural change.”
Too often, housing is described purely in terms of inflation rates, rental costs, and homelessness counts. Greenlar and Gabel’s photographs and vignettes lead you beyond the data and into the deeply human experience of people trying to find shelter and hold onto it. The images reflect more than a year’s work of interviewing residents and exploring the many different spaces that Central New Yorkers call home.
Accompanying vignettes throughout the gallery also share the stories behind each photograph, highlighting the details of each subject’s circumstances and the resources – or lack thereof – available to them.
Denise Masterson 57 years-old of 337 1/2 Shonnard St., watching television. She is 57 years-old, has had four strokes, has a dislocated shoulder, permanent broken wrist and elbow. She lives in a an apartment with little furniture, sleeps on just a mattress with holes. The dwelling is infested with mice and cockroaches. The couple living with her sleep on the floor with just a blanket. Her rent is $500 a month.
Jeanette Kilmartin pictured outside her home on West Matson Avenue. She became addicted to opiods after surgery and gradually lost her job, home, and relationships. After being in recovery for about a year, Jeanette moved into this home, renovated by A Tiny Home for Good, in 2019. “When I walked in these doors, I was just flabbergasted to be given such a, a beautiful gift.”
This exhibit will also be the setting for Central Current’s next Current Conversations event scheduled for Monday, March 3rd at 5 pm.
Central Current’s Managing Editor Chris Libonati will moderate a discussion with panelists from the Housing and Homelessness Coalition of CNY, CNY Fair Housing, and the Volunteer Lawyers Project of CNY. They will explore policy solutions and other possible paths forward during an interactive session at the ArtRage gallery.
The evening will begin with a brief reception, followed by the panel discussion. Attendees will have ample opportunities to ask questions and interact with Central Current staff and speakers.