Photo by Mary for “Through the Eyes of the Homeless,” Courtesy of Heart Gallery NYC and the Department of Homeless Services
Last night at the luxurious Prince George Ballroom on 5th avenue, 14 homeless and formerly homeless photographers, in collaboration with Heart Gallery NYC and the NYC Department of Homeless Services, exhibited their unique perspectives of New York City in a group photo show entitled: “Through the Eyes of the Homeless.”
The exhibition, which was open to the public, was intended to empower homeless individuals to photograph the city how they see it, and raise awareness of the lack of affordable housing in New York City.
Photo by Hankfor “Through the Eyes of the Homeless,”Courtesy of Heart Gallery NYC and the Department of Homeless Services
The 28 images on display were all taken on Canon PowerShot G7-X cameras donated by Canon and Adorama, who contributed a total of 25 cameras to the project. The G7-X was ideal for the project because of their ease of use, image quality and low lightperformance. The photographers were trained under the mentorship of five photographers chosen by Heart Gallery NYC; Heidi Gutman, Michael Weschler, Aliya Naumoff, Daniel Rosenthal, and Deborah Feingold donated their time to teach the mentees practical skills such as camera operation, composition, perspective, subject selection and more. After the initial training, the mentee photographers were sent out into the city to document and capture the city through their own perspective. After their photo expeditions, the mentees and mentors reconvened to critique each other’s work, come up with captions and descriptions, and ultimate select the strongest images to appear in the exhibit.
Photo by Johnathan for “Through the Eyes of the Homeless,”Courtesy of Heart Gallery NYC and the Department of Homeless Services
“Mentoring for ‘Through the Eyes of the Homeless’ has been a rareopportunityfor me to connect with New York City’s homeless and gain new insights into some misconceptions,” comments mentor Michael Weschler, a photographer and director with editorial credits to his name including GQ, Vogue and Newsweek. “It’s been a moving experience and I’ve increased my compassion for the homeless because of the inspired photography we’re producing together. It’s easy as a New Yorker to not understand and become frustrated with some street people, but most of the homeless are seeking shelter and work and don’t actually want to be homeless on the street. Having the chance to mentor a well-groomed older gentleman named Carl was particularly inspiring. His drive to contribute to society and capture authenticity made his story unique and his artistic eye was that of an advanced student.”
Top photo by Janet, bottom photo by Hank for “Through the Eyes of the Homeless,”Courtesy of Heart Gallery NYC and the Department of Homeless Services
AdoramaPix, the photo imaging lab of choice for professional photographers, provided all printing for the exhibit, where prints and postcard sets were sold with 100% of the proceeds going to the artists.
To support theThrough the Eyes of the Homelessproject and/or to learn more about how you can help, please considerjoining the cause by volunteering or offeringin-kind or financial support.
