journey2home
This interactive public art project combines creative expression with services and education. 50 teenagers worked with the artists to transform an abandoned row home into an explosion of color and place of safety. The project raises awareness of the crippling homelessness and housing insecurity that plague Philadelphia's streets.
The reinvented house provides a forum for after-school programs and as a springboard for a sound mural, teenager driven-journal, and creative expressions of the children who come to learn and spend time.
Homelessness permeates nearly every sector of the city. According to Project HOME, "Each year homeless outreach organizations engage over 5,500 individuals living on the street, in cars, abandoned buildings, train/bus stations, abandoned buildings, and other places not meant for human habitation." Like many urban centers, many Philadelphians fall victim to high costs of living, as well as added factors like mental illness and addicition that hamper their ability to hold onto a steady home. This project brings to light themes of home, belonging, and human dignity.
