Eight men, once homeless and working maintenance jobs in Philadelphia, volunteered to become photographers for a day last month.
The work produced by those eight, who are part of a program called Ready, Willing and Able that provides work and educational services to the formerly homeless, went on display this week in a local gallery.
Art-Reach - a non-profit organization that provides cultural experiences to those who might not otherwise have the chance - worked with the gallery to organize the exhibit of art by children and groups with disabilities or economic disadvantages.
On one wall, contrasting with the children's art nearby, hang the photos the eight men from RWA took in Northeast Philadelphia. The photos capture both the gritty details of the city and bright spots of grass or murals. Sound recordings of their walk through Kensington accompany the photographs.
Opposite the photographs, three-dimensional ceramic tiles vary from abstract designs to a well-drawn, poignant grave reading "RIP Dad." Overbrook School for the Blind students sculpted the tiles to portray specific emotions.
Last Friday at the University City Science Center's Esther M. Klein Art Gallery at 3701 Market St., viewers admired the photographs, chatted with the artists and even inquired about purchasing artwork, said Michael Norris, executive director of Art-Reach.
"It's nice to see stuff that's not made with any preconceptions about art, about the history of art," said Amy Adams, the gallery's curator of exhibitions. "It's more open, and I think participants get more joy."
Artists featured in the "Art Within Reach" exhibit included children from the Overbrook School and children and adults with developmental and neurological disabilities
"The exhibit would give us a public forum to show our mission" of providing cultural opportunities to underprivileged audiences, Norris said. The opportunity is one "we don't often have because we're so often below the radar."
Under the guidance of artists, participants created art such as films, journals, sand castles and children's books in workshops this past summer and fall.
The "Art Within Reach" exhibition is on display free of charge through Dec. 30.
The exhibit "really not just promotes our organization, but it certainly helps raise awareness about how the art can help people who have disabilities or economic disadvantages deal with their situations and channel that into something that's positive and fulfilling," Norris said.
Kate Houston, RWA's deputy director for community affairs, said that this art need not be distinguished from that of other artists.
"I'm not sure that there's that much of a distinction between what underserved populations are creating and what other populations are creating," Houston said. "If you gave these cameras to a group of college students, I don't know that the photos would've ended up looking very differently."
At the opening -- attended by about 100 people - "the [RWA] guys seeing their art in a professional setting like that just takes the whole experience to another level," she added. "The reaction they had to each one of the images was more valuable to me than each of the images themselves."
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