A new art exhibit in South Bend is showcasing the creativity of people experiencing homelessness.
The Motels4Now Art Workshop, led by local artist M.T. Giddings, features 158 works by 76 artists who are guests of the low-barrier shelter.
Giddings, who started the program last year, said the project grew out of the creativity he saw at the motel. Guests were already drawing on doors, altering their clothing and repurposing objects around the property.
“I think that the response has been that, uh, a lot more people identify as artists,” Giddings said. “Um, that they have, that they’re, they’re maybe picking up on past experiences, but, but because when they walk in the door, they are automatically an artist in, in, in my eyes.”
The workshop has relied on community donations and support from the Indiana Arts Commission to expand. Giddings said he hopes to provide more consistent opportunities for participants to create and sell their work.
“It would be so exciting to have sustained ways for our guests and for the broader community of, of people experiencing homelessness in South Bend to plug into something where they have ways to, um, make art consistently and to sell art,” Giddings said.
The exhibit is on display at Our Lady of the Road, 744 S. Main St., through Sept. 22. A closing reception and art supply drive will be held that evening from 5 to 7 p.m.
