Homeless art show visits N.O.

One photograph shows smiling friends linked arm-in-arm at Christmas time. Another shows a man asleep under a bridge, clutching a few tattered belongings. Both show the faces of homelessness.

The photographs are part of a traveling exhibit produced by homeless people about their lives. "Homeless: Telling Our Own Stories" is on display at Convergence Center for the Arts at 6100 Canal Blvd. through the end of October. The center is sponsored by Sojourn Lakeview Church and admission to the exhibit is free.

"You sense community and devastation in the same exhibit," said James Welch, pastor of Sojourn Lakeview. "It creates a tension in you."

More than 250 people recently attended opening night. The exhibit includes original photographs, drawings, poetry and a multi-sensory presentation depicting homelessness. Featured are 30 colored marker and ink pictures by homeless artist Mark Anthony Mulligan, whose work is part of a collection at the New Orleans Museum of Art.

The project began when disposable cameras were given to homeless people associated with Jefferson Street Baptist Center in downtown Louisville, Ky.

The exhibit's "In Three Years" component features homeless people interacting with chalk drawings on concrete walls and sidewalks. The photos illustrate what they hope their lives will be like in three years. One picture shows a homeless woman at a chalk computer, writing a book. Another shows a little girl walking hand and hand with her father "Walter," who wants to spend time with his daughter.

Ann Marie Garrett, 11, said she liked the exhibit, especially the chalk drawing of the girl and her father. "It was amazing," Garrett said. "It was really sweet."

Jordan Smith, a Tulane University graduate student and a Sojourn Lakeview member, recently completed a one-year program at the Louisville center, where he lived with the homeless. Smith recognized Walter in the photo and knew of his dream to reunite with his daughter....