Project Statement

Shelter and Self is a project focusing on the success and limitations of people of color. It was made to highlight inequity, to push boundaries and create through intervention. One such issue is homelessness, according to the department Housing and Urban Development’s 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment, people of color are significantly over-represented among people experiencing homelessness. Focusing on the Homeless Response System in Monterey County, The Wanderer or the lead artist of this project placed a camera obscura in Salinas, Chinatown to reflect on the barriers that this population faces daily. These barriers include: mental illness, drug abuse, lack of housing, and unfair housing rates. This is showcased by shadow figures digitally manipulated into the tent that will visualize the barriers for the viewer. If one were to pinpoint the demographics of who are being served in Monterey County using data from 2017-2018 a disparities analysis was done; if one is focusing on race alone, more than half of the clients that exited into permanent and supportive housing were white, non-Hispanic individuals even though they only made up 35% of the homeless population. As a mixed race, non-binary, transitional aged youth (ages 18-24) the Wanderer would more than likely be lost in this homeless response system. One could see this as a form of social activism that challenges viewers and the issues specific to their community.