News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Steve Christensen
LUMA
312.915.6164
schris6@luc.edu
Photography Exhibition Documents the Journey from Homelessness to Hopefulness
 |
CHICAGO, August 4, 2011 - The Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA), in conjunction with the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness and Loyola University Chicago's Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL), presents Pathways to Stable Housing, opening Saturday, August 20, 2011. The exhibition, which runs through January 15, 2012, highlights the work of photographer Noah Addis and gives a voice to those who understand homelessness firsthand.
In the summer of 2010, Addis teamed up with Loyola sociologist Philip Nyden, PhD, to photograph and interview 25 homeless men and women and their families. The exhibition brings together visual and written documentation to convey the strength of these individuals as they overcome multiple challenges, such as childhood homelessness, the loss of family income due to physical and mental health issues, the lack of easy access to quality education, and the shortage of affordable housing.
Addis has been working as an artist, photojournalist, and documentary photographer for more than 15 years. This project grew out of Addis's interest in how people around the world work hard to create stable housing and supportive communities and out of CURL's ongoing research, which documents successful efforts to reduce homelessness and uncovers continuing needs for more effective and affordable housing policies.
As with other CURL projects, this exhibition is the product of extensive collaboration with a range of community and advocacy organizations, including the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Housing Opportunities for Women, Saint Leonard's Ministries, Deborah's Place, Hilda's Place/Connections for the Homeless, West Suburban PADS, and the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County.
Public Programs:
All events take place at LUMA, 820 N. Michigan Avenue, unless otherwise noted.
Reception for Pathways to Stable Housing
Tuesday, September 13 at 5:30 p.m.
Beane Hall, 13th Floor, 111 E. Pearson Street, Chicago, IL
Free
Everyone is invited to this reception marking the opening of Pathways to Stable Housing at LUMA. Come and meet a number of the individuals who are featured in the exhibition and hear short presentations by photographer Noah Addis, Phil Nyden, PhD, from Loyola's Center for Urban Research and Learning, and Nancy Radner, CEO of the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness. RSVP to luma@luc.edu or 312.915.7608.
Meet the Photographer Lecture
Wednesday, September 14 at 4 p.m.
$4
Free for LUMA members and Loyola faculty, staff, and students
Noah Addis, whose photographs are featured in the exhibition Pathways to Stable Housing, will reflect on his work as a photojournalist, particularly as a staff photographer at The Star-Ledger, where he completed work on the growth of Christianity in Africa, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Iraq immediately after the fall of Baghdad in 2003. In 2005, Addis was part of a team awarded the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the resignation of New Jersey's governor. Addis will also discuss his photography in Cuba, Brazil, and Peru, some of which deals with "informal housing"-new communities organized by people at the margins of society-and his two emerging projects on the Colorado River and "America's Playground."
About CURL
Founded in 1996, the Center for Urban Research and Learning (CURL) at Loyola University Chicago is a non-traditional, interdisciplinary research center whose distinctive methodology integrates community and university-based knowledge. Most projects involve community partners at all levels of research, from conceptualization and methodological design to data collection, data analysis, writing, and dissemination. The outcomes of this research help to address community needs and provide new perspectives valuable to academic-based researchers. The 15-year-old CURL has completed, or continues to be actively engaged in, more than 200 collaborative university-community research projects. Research teams have included more than 75 Loyola faculty, 150 graduate students, 200 undergraduates, and 125 community partners. For more on CURL, visit LUC.edu/curl.
About LUMA
Opened in 2005, the Loyola University Museum of Art is dedicated to exploring, promoting, and understanding art and artistic expression that illuminates the enduring spiritual questions of all cultures and societies. As a museum with an interest in education and educational programming, LUMA reflects the University’s Jesuit mission and is dedicated to helping people of all creeds explore the roots of their faith and spiritual quests. Located at Loyola University Chicago’s Water Tower Campus, the museum occupies the first three floors of the University’s historic Lewis Towers on Chicago’s famous Michigan Avenue. For more information, visit the museum’s website at LUC.edu/luma.
Art illuminating the spirit!
-LUMA-
