Opening Reception: Friday, February 2 from 6 – 8pm
Exhibition Runs: February 2 – 22, 2018
Bringing the injustice of poverty and homelessness together, Recycled Heart is an exhibit, like all ArtStreet shows, that captures the diverse, distinct, and highly individual response of our artists to community-chosen themes.
ArtStreet artists work with the potential within themselves and discarded materials to create something new. Artists quickly learn to see materials in a new way-enabling them to transform raw material into artwork. The artwork highlights materials that are re-purposed and given a new perspective, much like those who are impoverished or living on the street must do with many materials and situations.
Art and recycling go hand-in-hand for ArtStreet Artists. They have the ability to transform old, recycled and reused objects into amazing pieces of contemporary art. ArtStreet, a program of Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless, and Harwood Art Center join together to present, Recycled Heart, an exhibit featuring mixed media and recycled art by ArtStreet artists who are well recognized for the skill in recycled art. Bringing the injustice of poverty and homelessness together, Recycled Heart is an exhibit that is uniquely poised to capture the diverse, distinct, and highly individual responses of ArtStreet artists’ interpretation of their community experiences in relation to poverty and homelessness.
Access to the arts is a social justice issue. ArtStreet makes access to the arts available to those least likely to enjoy it while holding a space to build community connections and increase awareness of the issues of homelessness through the art-making process. ArtStreet Artist and Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Board Member, Evelyn Kuhn, describes this dynamic partnership and art exhibit:
“The show (Recycled Heart) at Harwood is an open and quirky but artistic setting for emerging artists at ArtStreet. Harwood has always been supportive of AHCH and ArtStreet. It has validated and helped me bring out the artist in me. There is an artist in everyone.” – Evelyn Kuhn, ArtStreet Artist and Albuquerque Health Care for the Homeless Board Member
The Recycled Heart exhibition was made possible, in part, by funding from the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, The National Endowment for the Arts, and Harwood Art Center of Escuela del Sol Montessori. The project also receives funding, in part, from individual contributions and private foundations.